Warmth
by Rahar Moonfire
Summary: Lance, Allura's younger brother, gets captured on the mission to retrieve the Red Lion. His guard, a Galra halfbreed named Keith, may just be his ticket to freedom. He's a bit small for an alpha, but Lance can handle it. A little flirting never hurt after all. The fact Keith is good looking for a Galra and those ears wiggle (so cute!) didn't influence that decision. Nope. a/b/o
1. 1: Frigid Defeat

**A/N:** This is a fill for a prompt on the Voltron: Legendary Defender kinkmeme. Here's the link:

voltron-kink. dreamwidth 1161. html? thread= 273545

 **Chapter summary:** In which the war is lost and thus begins a 10,000 year long nap.

* * *

 **Warmth**

 **1: Frigid Defeat**

He'd often wondered what would happen if someone stayed in the healing pods for millenia. Would they age to the point their body was too physically old to safely revive? Would they shrivel up to a withered old husk until they crumbled to dust? Or would they remain perfectly preserved until the day the pods were opened and _then_ crumble into dust? Or would they legitimately remain in perfect condition only to wake up sometime far in the future, alone, lost, and confused?

These were questions he'd sometimes thought about when he should have been paying closer attention in his language classes. But who could blame him for choosing to focus on the lovely men and women in his class instead? The healing pods were for healing. They had never been used for extended periods with a few notable exceptions. There simply wasn't enough data to accurately answer those questions and no scientist had been willing to undergo a test for an organized experiment. So why focus on unanswerable questions?

He probably should have, he thought. Funny how the most minor of questions came back to haunt him now. He should be paying more attention to the explosions wreaking havoc on the particle barrier surrounding the Castle of Lions. He should be flying one of the fighters with the other soldiers taking down the enemy Galra ships, protecting his people. He should be helping his father cover the evacuation of the handful of survivors back to their home planet Altea.

But he wasn't. He couldn't stop staring at his sister now slumbering in a healing pod. It had not been easy forcing her into the device. He'd had to manhandle her into the pod at their father's command. Even so, she'd almost managed to drag him into the pod along with her. He'd somehow freed himself from her frantically grasping hands and stepped back just far enough for the pod to seal and start the cryogenic process.

Her terrified eyes, her desperate cries, the look of betrayal on her face… He would never forget them for as long as he lived; which, he considered, glancing up at the ceiling high above where the alarms blared through the comm system, wouldn't be for much longer.

"Son."

He turned to his king and father aware of the fear and guilt clearly written on his face. "You realize she'll never forgive me for this," he said, feeling a heavy weight settle in his gut.

His king, ruler of Altea and lord of the Castle of Lions, bowed his head so his white hair shadowed his face. "I believe she will in time," he said gravely. "I still need to hide the Lions."

The young prince hesitated. "'I?'" he repeated, not necessarily sure he liked that choice of word. "Father what-?"

"I'm so sorry, my son."

"King Alfor!"

Both the king and the prince turned to the new arrival. "What is it Coran?" King Alfor acknowledged.

"We can't maintain this position any longer without compromising the particle barrier beyond its designed limits," the red haired man said as he gasped for breath.

Alfor nodded and glanced at his son. The young prince was staring fixedly at Coran with an expression of fear. The boy was losing hope. Alfor mourned the thought that his son would very likely lose more than just his hope before this madness ended.

Alfor placed a hand on his son's shoulder and squeezed. The prince wobbled slightly at the contact. It was this momentary show of weakness that Alfor used to his advantage. He tightened his grip on his son's shoulder and slung the boy to the side. The moment he heard the solid thud of his son's back impacting the cool metal interior of the cryogenic pod, Alfor activated the device.

His son's stunned expression flashed to horror an instant before his whole body slumped into unconsciousness and the cryogenic process began. The sight pained Alfor greatly.

"You've given up then?" Coran asked in an unusually serious voice.

"For this fight? Yes," the king admitted. "But for this war? For my children? No. That's why I would like you to accompany them, if you would. They will need someone to look after them."

Coran studied his King's back, taking note of the slumped shoulders and air of sadness. Reluctantly, he nodded. "As you wish, Sire. Although," he added in an attempt to lighten the heavy atmosphere, "I doubt Allura will need much looking after. She is a strong young woman. Takes too much after her father."

Alfor chuckled. "That she does," he said, gazing at his slumbering daughter. "And Lance always took after his mother," he added with a wry smile. "That is, perhaps, what worries me most."

Coran sighed. "When would you like me to enter a pod, Sire?" he asked.

"Now, if you would," the king said firmly. He turned back to his advisor and friend. "I'll take over piloting the Castle from here."

"As you wish, my lord."

With one last look at his children, King Alfor left the healing chambers for the bridge. He would be damned if he let his children die and the Lions be captured now. He was doing this for them: for Allura and Lance. It was the right thing to do. Perhaps if he kept telling himself that, one day he would believe it.


	2. 2: Frozen Time

**A/N:** Two updates in 2 days? Woah. That's unexpected during school. Enjoy it while it lasts.

 **Chapter summary:** In which the sleepers wake up and have the play catch up on current events. **  
**

* * *

 **2: Frozen Time**

Flashes.

.

Catches of color.

.

.

Soft, muffled sounds.

.

.

.

Darkness rivaling the depths of a gravity hole.

.

.

.

.

Silence.

.

.

a

.

.

l

.

.

o

.

.

n

.

.

e

.

.

.

Muffled murmurs.

 _?_

Tha-thunk.

 _?_

Knock-knock.

 _?!_

Hiss.

Cold. So cold.

Falling.

Warmth.

"…up…"

He forced his eye open and immediately squeezed them shut again.

"Too bright," he mumbled through an unexpectedly hoarse throat.

"Wake _UP!_ "

"What the quiznak?!" he screamed, very much awake.

He pushed himself away from whatever -not a thing, he realized, a person- _who_ ever had been holding him and flailed for balance. He still felt clouded like his mind was full of yelmor fur but his eyes were wide open and zipping all over the place trying to figure what the frackin' quiznak was going on here. He stabilized himself by using the healing pod as a brace.

Healing pod.

"Father?" he called softly, not sure if he was hoping for a response or just seeking some sort of comfort in the endearment.

"Gone."

He blinked and turned to the voice he recognized. There, standing next to the rather large Altenoid alien with blunted ears -what happened to them? Were they cut off?- was his sister.

"'Llura?" he said, attempting to swallow the lump in his dry throat.

Tears brimmed over his older sister's blue-violet eyes and down her cheeks. He straightened, feeling the lingering sleepiness begin to fade away from his mind leaving a cold, sinking feeling settling like a stone in his gut.

"He's gone," Allura said again, her voice watery and hoarse like his. "He's gone. Father's gone. He dead."

Dead?

"But I just saw him!" he cried. "He threw me in-" He froze, staring at the device he leaned against in shock. "…in there," he finished weakly. He gulped and took an unsteady step away from the healing pod, followed by another. "But that… How… Altea. We were going back to Altea to help with the fight. Wha…"

"Altea's gone too," Allura all but sobbed, a note of fury in her voice. "It's been destroyed."

His legs tangled and his fingers twitched. It couldn't be true. Altea was home. Altea was safe. Altea was… gone. He stiffened when arms looped around his shoulders but reacted when the familiar scent of his sister filled his nose. Safe. Allura was safe. When he returned the hug, it wasn't from a conscious decision so much as an instinctual need to feel safe.

"I… I'm sorry," he said. She probably wouldn't have even heard him had her ear not been so close to his mouth. "I'm sorry I pushed you in there. Father told me to. He wanted to keep you safe. He-"

"I know," she whispered, running her fingers through his short brown hair that always reminded her of their mother. "I know."

He was crying, but so was she. Allura was his big sister. They taunted and fought and argued and teased and wrestled and made each other's lives hell at times, but they were siblings. They could depend on each other. They had to.

Not that they had much choice now.

His thoughts skidded to an abrupt halt when his ears were suddenly assaulted by the sound of bawling. Not the quiet weeping he and Allura had been experiencing, oh no. This was a loud, borderline obnoxious, definitely snotty and drool cry that he did not recognize.

He lifted his gaze to the center of the healing chamber and was caught off guard by the sight of three unknown Altenoids. Well, two unknown Altenoids actually. The one causing all the racket was none other than the person who caught him when he first woke up.

"Don't be afraid," the oldest Altenoid said. He was tall and well built, much like Lance's military instructor. His hair was jet black with the sole exception of a tuft of white that hung over his forehead. A prominent scar sliced across the Altenoid's face and his right arm was mechanical. He must have quite a story to tell.

"We don't mean you any harm," the Altenoid said calmly, placing his left hand over his chest. "My name's Shiro. This is Pidge," he said, pointing to the shortest Altenoid who had messy blonde hair, strange circular wire things over his eyes, and wore a white and green shirt that was much too big for his body. "And this is Hunk," Shiro continued, pointing to the large Altendoid.

Hunk had brown hair that was so dark, it could easily be mistaken for black. His skin was darker than Shiro's or Pidge's -what kind of names were those anyway?- but he wore similar style clothing. Perhaps they were all from the same planet. Speaking of.

"I'm Lance, Prince of Altea and Sentinel of the Castle of Lions," he replied, not-so-subtle stepping out of his sister's embrace, but not out of her touch, to face the intruders more directly. "What are you doing here?"

"Um," Shiro said, scratching his neck awkwardly. "Would you believe me if I said a giant, yellow, mechanical lion brought us here?"

"Giant, yellow-"

"Were you its pilot?" Allura asked excitedly.

"No, Hunk did. It's a long story," Shiro said waving his hands in a defensive manner.

The babbling sound of a language not recognized by the translator chips suddenly filled his ears and he turned to the big Altenoid, Hunk, in confusion.

"They don't have translators yet," Shiro said calmly. "Actually, I was kind of hoping you guys had a few spare-"

The sharp hissing sound of another healing pod opening startled the group. Lance would have been lying if he hadn't hoped for a single moment that maybe their father had joined them in cryogenic sleep. But when Coran came stumbling out in all his awkward glory, Lance felt his hope flicker and fade away again. He loved Coran like the crazy uncle he was, but he wasn't…

He wasn't father.

"Coran!" Allura cried, rushing to their uncle's side.

"Gah!" the man exclaimed, adopting one of his signature surprise poses. "Intruders in the castle! Let me at 'em! I'll take the whole lot o' you!"

Lance rolled his eyes and used the chance to jab a single finger in his uncle's side. The resulting squeal and hop was definitely still worth it. Father may not be here anymore, but Lance would be an idiot if he gave up this chance to live. His father died to make sure he could live, so he would live. Hopefully, he could find some fun in living while he was at it.

"Quiznak! Lance you- You, _you_!"

"Me," Lance said with an elegant flourish. "I know. My awesome has simply swept you off your feet. Too bad I don't go for older men." He examined his fingernails proudly listening to Coran's flustered lecture.

"Enough, both of you," Allura commanded and both Lance and Coran stilled. Neither wanted to wind up on the wrong end of Princess Allura's infamous temper. "Father is dead, Altea has been destroyed, we have strangers in the Castle, and you two are acting like children!"

"Well," Lance edged, "technically, I _am_ the 'kid' sibling." He winked which earned him a flat stare from his sister and a barely smothered snicker from Coran.

"The first thing we need to do is get these two translators," Allura said, clapping her hands together. She was doing a magnificent job fighting back her tears and taking charge. Father would have been proud. Lance certainly was. Which naturally meant it was time to tease.

"Oh," he said, resting his cheek in the palm of his hand and giving Allura his best watery smile. He even managed a sniff or two. "Look at my big sister. All grown up. So proud. I guess that means I get dibs on first use of the holodeck."

"Not so fast," Allura snapped. "I still have dibs on that. And anyway, you need to go do a systems check and be sure everything is up and running. Coran," she continued, ignoring her brother's groan, "I want you to get your hands on any translators you can find. Hopefully we still have a few."

"I'm sure we have some," Coran said, waving away the princess's worries dismissively. "Now do any of them work, now there's the question. I mean, who knows how well technology that's… Hmm, how long have we been a sleep for? A few decades? A century maybe?"

Allura's face drooped and Lance felt that uncertainty solidify in his stomach once more.

"Ten thousand," she murmured. "We've been asleep for 10,000 years."

Lance felt the cold claw of despair begin to dig its claws into his heart. He nodded shakily. "I'll go…start running diagnostics on the Castle's systems."

* * *

Shiro watched Lance leave and couldn't help but feel his heart go out to the young prince. "I'm sorry," he said. "I know I didn't cause this or that I can fix it, but… I'm still sorry."

Princess Allura shook her head. "Don't be," she said. "As you said, you haven't done anything wrong. Actually," she said, her lips quirking up in a wry smile, "you may have don't something right. Come with me," she said, waving the Altenoids after her. "Tell me, you say you arrived here in a yellow mechanical cat, correct?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Ma'am?" Allura repeated the unfamiliar word in confusion.

A faint blush colored the man's cheeks. "It's a respectful term for a lady where I, where _we_ come from," he explained. "We all come from the same planet: Earth. It's in the Milky Way galaxy."

"Earth," Allura murmured, feeling the word roll of her tongue. She hummed thoughtfully. "I don't recognize that name, but then again I have been asleep for a while so who knows what might have happened."

Shiro wisely did not pursue that subject.

"How did you come by the Yellow Lion? You said your friend Hunk was its pilot?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder to the other two Asteroids following along behind them and speaking some form of gibberish. Her brow furrowed in concern. She sincerely hoped Coran could find at least a temporary translator soon.

"It's a long story," Shiro said, the corners of his eyes narrowing. "Basically, I was captured by the Galra and-"

"The Galra?" Allure gasped. "They still exist?"

Shirl's shoulders slumped. "Unfortunately. They captured me and my team on a science expedition. I was able to escape but… I'm not sure where the others… I don't really remember…" He sighed heavily. "My memories of captivity are spotty at best," he reluctantly admitted. "All I can say for sure is I got away with _this_ ," he held his right mechanical right arm, giving it a suspicious look before letting it drop back to his side, "and then Pidge and Hunk found me. I'll tell you the details later, but during our… let's call it our 'misadventure,' we literally stumbled upon the Yellow Lion. It wouldn't let anyone but Hunk fly it, which was weird but after what I vaguely remember seeing…" He shrugged again, this time with a wry smile. "So I basically gave them the go-ahead to ditch class today in favor of flying a giant, mechanical lion through a wormhole to this place."

Allura lifted an eyebrow, intrigued. "The sounds like an interesting story," she said. "Perhaps when your companions get their translators and we retrieve the other Lions, I can hear it in full."

Shiro stopped mid-step in surprise. " _Other_ Lions," he gasped. "You know where they are?"

"Of course," the princess said, tossing a grin over her shoulder. Her silver-white hair tumbled down her back in an elegant cascade complimenting her perfectly white teeth and dark skin. "They're connected to me. I can use the Castle to track them down then you all will retrieve them, form Voltron, and fight the Galra. The Galra are still an empire now, I'm assuring."

"Yes," Shiro said, still mulling over the thought of actually forming that giant robot thing he, Hunk, and Pidge had had a vision of in that cave where they found the Yellow Lion. "Their emperor is a real piece of work."

"I'm sure," Allure said snidely. "The first emperor was an evil man with no heart and only a desire for destruction."

"That sounds like the current emperor alright," Shiro said in a grave voice. "His name's Zarkon and-"

"Zarkon?!" the princess cried. "He's still alive? But how... No. No," she said again, calming down. "This isn't Zarkon. he's probably just an heir with the same name. Evil bastard."

"I'm right with you there," Shiro said enthusiastically. "From what I can understand, the Galra who follow him are fanatics. It's like he's the Hitler to the Galra's Nazis."

Allura's snow white eyebrows furrowed in confusion and Shiro coughed. "Sorry. That's a reference to an event on Earth."

"Ah," the princess nodded, accepting the answer.

Without another word, she waved her hand over a panel of crystals and the door slide open revealing what could only be considered as the bridge. Prince Lance was already there running through what Shiro assumed were system diagnostics. As she approached the pedestal in the middle, Lance tossed a glance at them. He opened his mouth to speak before the door slid open once more allowing a gasping Coran entrance.

"Here," the advisor said, presenting Princess Allure with two translators. "They probably need a few upgrades to whatever version our friend Shiro here has, but they should do in a pinch."

"Thank you Coran," Allura said with a grateful smile. She carefully took the small devices and approached Hunk and Pidge. "Shiro, if you could translate for me."

"Of course Princess."

"Very well." Allura squared her shoulders and said, "These are temporary translators which should help you understand our language. You may feel a slight prick when I place them on your ear, but otherwise there shouldn't be any pain. I will endeavor to find more updated version for both you and myself as soon as I am able. Do you consent to this?"

Pidge was the first to nod after Shiro finished repeating what Allura said in the native Earth language. Hunk was more hesitant with his acceptance, eyeing the device suspiciously. Allura tucked the slender translator around Pidge's left ear and activated it. Pidge jerk and gave a small cry of surprise, rubbing the area tenderly.

"I apologize for the pain," the princess said. "It should last too long."

Pidge's eyes grew round and he adjusted the round, wire and glass things over his eyes in shock. "I can understand you," he gasped.

The princess chuckled and turned to Hunk, placing and activating his translator as well. Hunk gave a slightly louder cry and fondled his aching ear with watery eyes.

"That hurt man," he grumbled. "I'm a sensitive guy."

"Could be worse," Prince Lance said, finally speaking up. He waited until he had everyone's attention before speaking again. "She could have poked a hole through your ear with her fingernail. My sister may be pretty but if it's gentleness you want," he winked flirtatiously and flashed a sly smirk at Hunk, "I'm sure I can help with that."

"Lance!" Allure snapped. "For the Lion's sake, control yourself."

Lance grinned shamelessly. "What can I say? I like what I like."

"Um," Pidge stuttered, "did some space prince just _flirt_ with Hunk?"

"I'm just going to pretend that didn't happen," Hunk said, trying very hard to stop the blush from flooding his face. He was not into guys. Not that he had any problem with guys liking other guys. It just that _he_ didn't like other guys.

"Is he always like that?" Shiro asked, currently trying to decide whether to be amused or mildly horrified by the Altean prince's manner.

"Oh no," Coran said. "Not at all."

"Oh that's go-"

"Normally he flirts on first sight," Coran continued casually. "Honestly, I'm surprised it took this long. Although, he was probably waiting until your two friends understood him before flirting. Don't worry. It'll only get worse after this, I promise you."

"I'm not sure if that's a good thing," Pidge mumbled.


	3. 3: Cold Foreboding

**A/N:** Ok, so I meant to post this late last night but I was whipped from work so I'm posting tonight instead. I sincerely apologize for the poor quality of the previous chapters in regards to the spelling. I got a new tablet and its autocorrect kept changing words like "Allura" to Allure," "Shiro" to "Shirl" (is that even a word?), and "Galra" to "Gala," etc. I swear, I almost threw my tablet across the floor.

I ended up calling Dad and having him turn autocorrect off. So this chapter was completely written without autocorrect. I've gone over it once but I'll go over it again tomorrow morning just in case. Please let me know if you catch any errors so I can fix them.

Oh, and spaghettification is a real thing. It's the scientific word for what happens to something or someone who gets sucked into a black hole. I'm not even kidding. Otherwise, enjoy~

 **Chapter summary:** In which Coran may or may not have the space plague, the paladins get their first glimpses of their Lions, and Lance doesn't like the assumption Allura makes regarding his abilities, or lack thereof.

* * *

 **3: Cold Foreboding**

"Well, I've got some good news and some bad news," Coran announced, straightening from the lit panel he'd been focused on for the past hour or so. "Good news: the Princess and I have managed to locate two of the missing Lions."

"Sure, sure," Lance drawled, waving his hand in mock annoyance. "Give big sis all the credit. I didn't do a thing. Nope. Didn't even lift a finger."

"Ahem," Coran coughed into his hand.

"Bless you," Lance said graciously. "Better get that checked. Don't want to be catching space plague now do we?"

"Space plague?" Hunk stuttered, mildly terrified of the idea. "That's a _thing_?"

Lance considered a moment before replying, a shit-eating grin working its way across his face. "Well, I wouldn't say it's a 'thing' so much as it's a 'creature' bent on destroying all food in the universe." Hunk gasped and Pidge rolled his eyes while Lance pressed on. "It's said the plague takes hosts and uses them as its puppets to destroy every morsel of food in existence."

"Not the food!" Hunk exclaimed.

"Lance," Shiro said with a heavy sigh. "You and I both know there's no such thing as a space plague."

"Really?" Lance asked innocently. "Are you sure? Would you bet your life on it?"

"Ah-ahem!"

"Bless you Coran," Lance said, concern sparkling merrily in his eyes. "Perhaps you should take another nap in a healing pod to be sure you're alright."

"Lance," Allura said, planting her hands on her hips and glaring at her little brother.

Lance slumped in defeat, glowering at his sister but wisely keeping his mouth shut.

"As I was _saying_ ," Coran said, giving Lance the evil eye. Lance just rolled his eyes and sulked. "We found two of the other Lions: the Green and Blue Lions. The bad news is we haven't been able to locate the Red Lion yet."

"This could pose a problem," Allura said, crossing her arms over her chest pensively. "The Black Lion is currently in the Castle but it's locked away where even I can't reach it." She nibbled her lower lip in worry. "The only way to free the Black Lion is to gather the other four Lions here at the Castle."

"Why so much trouble for a Lion?" Pidge asked. "Does this have something to do with the giant robot thing we saw? That Voltron thing?"

"Voltron!?" Lance cried. "How do you know about Voltron?"

"You _saw_ Voltron? Where? When?" Allura demanded.

"Woah, easy there, guys," Pidge said, waving his hands frantically.

"We saw it in a vision," Shiro offered peaceably. "It was when we first found the Yellow Lion."

"Yeah," Hunk said. "I mean, the floor gave out underneath us so we fell into this super-secret hidden cave place covered in these glowing yellow carving things. That's where we found Yellow. I touched the glowing yellow shield then _POW_!"

Lance jumped and made a small cry at the sudden loud sound effect but Hunk ignored it and kept talking.

"I had this vision of this huge, _huge_ awesome robot. But it wasn't just me," Hunk insisted. "Shiro and Pidge saw it too. I swear I'm not crazy."

"Relax Hunk," Lance said, recovering from his admittedly embarrassing display with practiced ease. "I know you're not crazy."

"Thanks man," Hunk sighed in relief.

"Yeah, totally." Lance strolled up to Hunk, slinging an arm over the Altenoid's shoulder with a grin. "We all know the crazy on here is Coran."

Coran sputtered in righteous indignation. "I beg your pardon? I'll have you know I am most certainly _not_ crazy."

"Oh no?"

"No." Coran squared his shoulders and puffed out his chest. "Just because my mind works on a different level than yours doesn't mean I'm crazy."

"Ri- Wait, did you just insult me?" Lance asked, eyeing the advisor suspiciously.

"As long as our minds continue to work on different levels, I guess we'll never know," Coran said with a not-so-sad shrug.

Lance stared hard at Coran before bursting into enthusiastic cackles. He laughed so hard he had to lean over and brace himself on the Hunk who fumbled to keep the prince upright. Coran grinned triumphantly and gave his poofy ginger mustache a proud flick.

"You both are such children," Allura groaned.

"You love me," Lance said with a cheeky grin.

"Hard to believe he's royalty," Pidge commented, picking at the still tender spot where his translator attached to his head behind his ear.

"I like him," Hunk said in between barely muffle snickers.

"Thanks," the prince said, flashing a bright smile in Hunk's direction. "Friends?"

"Totally," Hunk said. "Space bros all the way."

"Bros?"

"It's short for brothers," Hunk explained. "You know. Friends, best buddies, brothers, bros."

The prince tilted his head to the side in thought before breaking into a heartfelt smile. "Bros then. I'll get you into so much trouble."

"You know," Hunk said, now a bit hesitant, "I actually believe you."

"If you two are finished making fools of yourselves," Allura said in her best disappointed mother tone, "we have things to do. Now, if you will all follow me. I think it's time we showed you something. Lance, you too."

Shiro moved to follow the princess but paused when he noticed the confused expression on the prince's face. He hadn't known Prince Lance long, but from what he had seen, Lance was a generally light-hearted individual despite the loss he had suffered. Shiro waited for the prince to join their group before following Allura.

They didn't have to go far from the bridge. The room they entered was round and covered in an odd surface that was similar in color to the rest of the Castle's interior surfaces, but different in texture. The white was almost iridescent in nature and glowed faintly.

"Wait," Lance said, suspicion and annoyance dripping from his voice. "Did you really invite everyone to come watch you use the holodeck first just to rub it in?"

So this was the holodeck, Shiro realized. He studied his surroundings more closely this time and felt the faintest tingle of wonder.

"No," the princess replied as she approached the short, round pedestal in the middle of the central platform. She pressed her hand to the device and waited for it to light up. The lights in the room suddenly dimmed to near a solute darkness with the exception of the glowing pedestal. The pinpricks of light burst forth from the floor and walls only to stop and hover in specific locations in the air around them. It took Shiro a couple seconds to recognize the points of light were not scattered in a random pattern at all, but were organized in clusters and swirls and some even had identifying markers next to them.

"It's a star map," Pidge breathed, taking in the sight with growing awe.

Hunk's eyes bugged out of his head and his mouth dropped open at the amazing sight. "We are literally standing in the middle of the galaxy," he said, beginning to bounce on the balls of his feet in excitement. "This is so cool."

"I don't think this is a galaxy," Hunk murmured. "I think this is the universe. Look." He pointed at a particular cluster of stars. "I think that's the Andromeda Galaxy."

"Woah!" Pidge gushed, his eyes aglow. "Imagine if we had this kind of technology back at the Garrison. Think of all the things we could do with it. We could map constellations more accurately, discover planets more easily, maybe even identify black holes by actually zooming in on the suspected location of one and studying the movements and behavior of the stars up close and personal without getting spaghettified."

The princess smiled at the Alentoids' reactions but bit back the desire to let them dwell on it. "I'm afraid I brought you here for another reason," she said gravely. "Shiro, you mentioned being captured by the Galra." Shiro nodded. "This," she made a few quick motions with her hands, "is the current extent of the Galra Empire."

Shiro felt his stomach drop as star system after star system changed from the pure, untainted white to a deep burgundy. The sheer number of systems conquered by the Galra was overwhelming.

"Unfortunately, I have more bad news," Allura continued.

She waved her hands in a pulling motions and Shiro watched the stars move in the direction she pulled until a familiar spiral galaxy sparkled in the air in front of him, Pidge, and Hunk. This galaxy was still pure white, a beacon amidst a sea of red tide.

"Based on what you've told me of your home planet, I believe this should be your home galaxy," Allura said gently.

"Y-yeah," Hunk said, his eyes fixed on the slowly spinning galaxy. "That- that's home."

Pidge swallowed and stepped up to the holographic galaxy to study the spiraling outer arms closely. After a brief moment's consideration, he pointed to a tiny pinprick near the edge of one particular arm. "If I recall my astronomy right, Earth should be right around here," he said in a matter-of-fact voice.

Prince Lance leaned over Hunk's shoulder to get a better look at the point Pidge had chosen before straightening and looking back over his shoulder at his sister. "It's still free," he said, a note of hope in his voice.

Allura nodded. "It is," she agreed. "For the moment."

Shiro studied the expanse of burgundy carefully and narrowed his eyes. "They're close," he said in a dark tone.

"Yes," Allura said, her shoulders drooping slightly in the dim light. "If the Empire's pattern of conquest holds, then your galaxy and by extension your planet will soon fall to them."

"We can't let that happen," Pidge snapped. "Earth is my home. Those bastards kidnapped my family. Like hell I'm going to let them get away with that."

"They what?" Allura gasped.

"I thought you'd never been this far out in space," Lance said, mirroring his sister's surprise.

Pidge flushed in disgruntled anger. "I haven't," he admitted. "But my father and my brother did. They went on a science mission to Kerberos," he said, casting a wary glance at Shiro.

Shiro stiffened and stared at Pidge dumbstruck. Pidge shifted uncomfortably but continued. "They were captured with Shiro," Pidge said. "Shiro managed to escape, but…"

Shiro wilted under Pidge's hopeful gaze. "I don't remember how I got out," he said softly. "My memory during my captivity is spotty at best."

"That's not unusual," Lance said grimly. "Before Father-" He bit his lip. "Be I went to sleep, I was fighter pilot. My squadron managed to free a handful of captives during our missions. Many of them had memory problems, either self-inflicted or by outside influences."

"PTSD," Hunk said, nodding in understanding.

"What?"

"PTSD," Hunk repeated. "It's what we call that back on Earth. It means Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome." He shrugged at the befuddled expression on the prince's face. "You see why we just call it PTSD." He chuckled and even Shiro crackled a smile. "When someone is traumatized by something, the brain reacts in different ways. It can cause anything from memory loss to flashbacks, to mood changes, that kind of thing. It's serious."

Shiro felt his shoulders beginning to hunch forward when a sturdy hand planted itself on his back. Startled, he turned and saw Hunk standing next to him with an encouraging smile.

"Don't worry, buddy," Hunk said. "You're not alone in this. We got your back."

"Besides," Pidge said, a smirk on his face, "you're the best pilot we have. Wouldn't want to end up covered in barf again, right Hunk?"

Hunk glared at his height challenge friend. "That was a low blow, Pidge. Real low."

"I'm just sayin'," Pidge said, completely unrepentant.

"Speaking of pilots," Allura said, clasping her hands. She ignored her brother's sudden uncertain gaze on her and opened her hands to reveal the holograph image of the Yellow Lion.

"Allura no," Lance said.

"I have the right to do this, brother," Allura said in what her father used to call her 'princess voice.' "This is my choice."

"We barely know them," Lance hissed, moving close to his sister's side.

"And yet one of them has already impressed his Lion and become its paladin," she countered with a smug grin in her brother's direction. When Lance huffed but didn't back down immediately, she softened her smile. "Trust me, brother," she pleaded. "I know what I'm doing."

Lance hesitated, then bowed his head in concession and stepped back.

Allura took a deep breath to center herself. "There are five Lions which make up the Voltron. Each Lion has only one paladin whose quintessence is mirrored in their corresponding Lion. The bond between each Lion and their paladin is a soul deep, mystical one that cannot be forced by any means."

She held out the hologram of the Yellow Lion to the Altenoids. "This is the Yellow Lion. It has a kind and gentle heart. It's steadfast and immensely loyal to its companions. Its paladin mirrors these qualities and together the paladin and Yellow Lion form the right leg of Voltron. This is why Hunk," the Yellow Lion hologram floated out of Allura's hands to hover by Hunk's face, "you shall pilot the Yellow Lion."

"Me?" Hunk squeaked meekly.

"You did so once already. Why stop now?" the princess said, flashing Hunk a gentle smile.

Then she cupped her hands and allowed another holographic Lion to form. This one was bright green and leaner than the Yellow Lion. A planet appeared next to the Lion with Altean symbols connecting the two.

"The Green Lion has an inquisitive mind and is ever curious," Allura said. "It's clever and protective of its companions. Its paladin must reflect these characteristics to form the left arm of Voltron. Pidge," she said, nudging the holographic Green Lion to float over to the shortest Altenoid, "you shall pilot the Green Lion."

Pidge adjusted his wire rimmed glasses and smiled eagerly at the hologram.

Another holographic Lion materialized in the Altean princess's hands. This one was blue and also had a planet attached to it. "The Blue Lion is playful and energetic. It views its companions as family and will do anything to keep them safe. Its paladin also reflects these qualities in order to successfully form the right leg of Voltron. That's why brother," she said, turning to Lance next to her, "I'd like you to pilot the Blue Lion."

The Altean prince stared at the holographic Blue Lion floating before him in dumbstruck awe. His eyes lifted to his sister's tender blue-violet gaze as if to be sure this wasn't a dream. If the rims of his eyes glittered a little more brightly than usual, neither acknowledged it.

"Thank you," he murmured, cradling the Blue Lion close to his chest. Their Father may be gone, but he hadn't left them with nothing to remember him by.

Allura fought back her own tears as she formed a fourth Lion in her hands, this on Black with bright red wings. "The Black Lion is the leader of the pride," she said. "It's larger and stronger than the other Lions. With a steady mind and calm demeanor, the Black Lion stands proudly by its companions in both battle and peace. Together with its paladin, it forms the decisive head of Voltron. Shiro, you will pilot the Black Lion."

Takashi Shirogane stared at the holographic Lion that was notable bigger than the others in awe. A pull he never noticed before suddenly tugged at his mind and heart, like a siren's call. It demanded his attention, summoning him to whatever lay at the other end.

"The Black Lion is currently locked within the Castle," Allura said. "To prevent the Galra from getting their hands on all of the Lions, our Father hid them on different planets throughout the universe. However, the Black Lion he kept here, locked away. It cannot be freed until the other four Lions and their paladins are present."

"But there are only three Lions other the Black one here," Hunk said, glancing at the Blue, Green, and his own Yellow Lion holograms. "Where's the fourth?"

"I'm assuming the fourth Lion is the right arm of Voltron," Pidge said thoughtfully. "Otherwise, we'd have a one-armed giant robot flailing around the universe."

"That…" Hunk paused, eyes widening in surprise, "would actually be kind of funny."

Pidge snorted. "You would."

"That's not how it works," Lance said suddenly. His face was shadowed except for the light cast by his holographic Lion. "Voltron can't be formed without all five Lions."

"Unfortunately, my brother is correct," Allura said sadly. She cupped her hands and a lithe, red Lion appeared. It had no planet attached to it nor any Altean words hovering nearby. "The Red Lion is faster and more agile than the other four Lions. However, that also makes it temperamental it much more unstable than the others as well. Its paladin must be wild at heart and rely on their instincts. Both must earn the others' respect before a bond can be formed."

"But where is the Red Lion? And who's its paladin?" Shiro asked.

The princess shook her head. "I have yet to locate either. Coran and I will continue to work towards finding it while Shiro, you and Pidge seek out the Green Lion. That means Lance-"

"Let me guess, you want Hunk to give me a ride to find Blue," Lance said, grinning happily. "I can't wait. I can finally fly again."

"If you already know, then you can lead the others to the pods," Allura said. "I'll open a wormhole to each planet. Pidge, Lance, find your Lions and bring them back here as quickly as you can." She grinned. "Then we can begin our quest to retrieve the Red Lion."

"And if we meet any Galra along the way?" Pidge asked.

"The Lions _are_ weapons, you know," Lance said, a smug grin on his face. "I bet I could out-fly and out-shoot all of you."

"As long as you do _not_ get yourselves _or_ you Lions captured," Allura said forcefully, aiming a glare at her brother, "then feel free to do what you need to in order to get yourselves come home."

Lance leaned back, suddenly very uncomfortable. "Why do I get the feeling you're only talking to me?" he demanded. "I'm offended by the insinuation."

"You can be offended as long as you and your Lion come back here in one piece," Allura snapped. She crossed her arms with a huff. "Now get going, all of you. I'll have a wormhole open in a few ticks so hurry it up."

Lance rolled his eyes and led the Alentoids to the pods. "Why does she always assume _I'm_ the one going to be captured?" he grumbled.


	4. 4: Icy Fate

**A/N: I'** ve named the gas giant and the moon after deities from Egyptian mythology. _Tefnut_ is one of the two children of the creator god Atem. She is a primordial goddess, the personification of the mist, dew, and rain, and the mother of the famous gods Nut and Geb (the sky and the earth respectively). The moon is named after _Khonsu_ who is literally the personification of the moon and whose name means "traveller."

Khonsu is a shepherd moon. Shepherd moons are moons which orbit within the rings of the parent planet. Their gravity and tidal forces clear out a path from the dust, rocks, and ice in the rings as they move. They "shepherd" the ring debris aside resulting in rings of emptiness except for the moon. A good example of a shepherd moon would be Saturn's moons Prometheus, Daphnis, Pan, Janus, and Epimetheus as well as Neptune's moons Cordelia and Ophelia. Look them up. They're pretty cool.

 **Chapter summary:** In which Team Voltron separates, Hunk is not impressed, and Lance plays chicken with the Galra and loses.

* * *

 **4: Icy Fate**

 **"** I think I'm going to throw up," Hunk said in a shaky voice.

Lance flinched and suddenly did not enjoy the thought of flying in a cramped cockpit with his new Altenoid friend. "Please don't," he said, inching away from Hunk's cone of aim. "I really don't want to get stomach acid and who knows what else all over me, thank you."

 _"Paladins,"_ Allura's voice rang through the Yellow Lion's communicator. _"I'll open a wormhole for Shiro and Pidge first then I'll open one for Hunk and my brother. The pod travels slower than the Lions so Shiro, be prepared for your search to take a few ticks longer than Lance's."_

"What's a tick?" Pidge asked rhetorically.

 _"This is very important,"_ Allura continued. _"Wormholes are one-way only so do **not** try to come back once you reach the other side. Wait for me to reopen the wormholes calibrated for incoming travel."_

"Understood princess," Shiro replied like the well-trained cadet.

"How long do we have to get to our Lions?" Pidge asked.

 _"I'll reopen the wormhole at regular intervals to check on your progress,"_ Allura said.

 _"With any luck, you'll both have your Lions and be ready to come back when we check back the first time,"_ Coran chimed in. _"Or who knows? There could be a fleet of Galra on the other side."_

"Galra?!" Shiro gasped.

"Uhh, I'm not sure I want to do this anymore," Hunk said.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Pidge asked urgently.

"Not funny Coran," Lance snapped, gripping the back of Hunk's pilot seat tightly.

Coran's chuckle was the last thing the group heard over their communicators before they were blasted through their respective wormholes.

Allura gave her advisor an exhausted look. "Coran, please try not to scare away our paladins before they even get their lions together. The last thing we need right now is a stroke of bad luck."

* * *

Lance had to blink several times to clear his head after the trip through the wormhole. Fortunately, his vision settled just in time for him to flinch out of the way when Hunk turned green and let out a huge belch.

"Do _not_ throw up," he pleaded, waving his hands desperately. "At least wait until I'm out of here before barfing. Please, please, _please!_ "

"So sorry," Hunk panted, carefully taking slow, deep breathes to fight back his uneasy stomach. "So sorry."

"Don't apologize," Lance said quickly. "Just focus on getting to the planet's surface without vomiting."

Hunk sat up and began tinkering with the controls. Lance could feel the indistinct sensation of the Yellow Lion communicating with its paladin like a distant buzzing in the back of his head. He remembered the stories of the experience from the previous paladins who served his father, King Alfor, before and during the Great War against the Galra Empire.

The war they'd lost.

The war they would not lose again,

The war they _could not_ lose again.

"Hey Lance, er, Your Highness," Hunk corrected quickly, "er, Prince, er-"

"Just Lance," the prince said, grinning broadly. "Formality wasn't too big of an issue with me. I'm just the Sentinel, after all."

Hunk hesitated. "Um, right, whatever that is," he mumbled. He shook his head suddenly. "That's not important right now. Look at those signals and tell me they're not what I think they are," Hunk said, pointing to several moving points on the view screen in front of them.

The yellow light covering several view screens lit the Lion's cockpit but Lance focused on the spot the Yellow Lion's paladin pointed to. The dark, angry red symbols were unmistakable.

"Galra!"

"What?!" Hunk cried, gripping the flight controls and yanking his Lion into a full stop. "But we literally just got here. How did they find us?"

The Altean prince leaned over Hunk's shoulder to study the Galra signatures more closely. Allura's wormhole had spit them out behind one of the larger chunks of rock in the rings orbiting the gas giant Tefnut. Turns out, Khonsu, the 'planet' the Blue Lion had been hidden on, wasn't a planet at all. It was actually one of the gas giant's moons. From the looks of it, Khonsu was one of the planet's two shepherd moons orbiting within Tefnut's rings. It was entirely possible that Khonsu had once been its own, independent rocky planet. But as Tefnut migrated closer to its star, it snagged Khonsu in its gravitational pull and the smaller planet's fate had been sealed.

Khonsu was a water world with ice caps at each of the two poles as the only solid land visible from their scanning range. Why would the Galra be here? This wasn't a major hub or trade route, at least it wasn't 10,000 years ago. Granted, Lance's knowledge was a bit dated, but still. The Galra had no obvious reason to be in this system; unless they too had found the Blue Lion. Lance cursed under his breath. This was not turning out to be his lucky day.

"Hunk," he said, catching the Yellow paladin's attention. "You said when you first found the Yellow Lion, the Galra saw you."

"Uh, yeah?" Hunk replied, confused by the line of questioning. "They chased us down until a wormhole opened for us to escape to your castle."

"Then it's safe to assume the Galra know the Yellow Lion's been found," Lance muttered, nibbling his lip as his mind raced. "Right. I need you to create a distraction for me."

"Wait, what?" Hunk cried. "Are you crazy?" He turned in his pilot chair to face the prince fully. "We're both in this together. Literally. We are literally in the same giant, alien, robot cat head right now. How would a distraction by me do anything to keep them from noticing you? Like, for real."

"If you can get me close enough to Khonsu's atmosphere, I can do a space jump to the Blue Lion's last known coordinates," Lance said, already logging the Lion's rough location into his arm band. "All I have to do is sync this up with my jumper, and I should be able to handle it from there."

Hunk blinked. "Tell you don't mean what I think you mean," he said flatly.

"Can't do that cause I'm not a telepath," Lance said with a cheeky grin. "Besides, the Yellow Lion is the most heavily armored of the pride," he explained. "It can take some serious impacts before experiencing any real damage."

Hunk continued to give the prince a flat stare until Lance had no choice but to sigh.

"Look," he said, "the Galra are here. There's no reason for them to be unless they've already narrowed down the Blue Lion's location to this moon. I'm betting they haven't found the Lion's exact location yet, but it's only a matter of time. We can't let any of the Lions fall into the Galra's hands."

"Alright, that aside," Hunk said, waving absently, "you're going to space jump? As in jump out of Yellow and what, just free fall to the moon's surface?" He shook his head. "Dude, you do realize there's such a thing as atmospheric friction, right? It can literally burn spaceships to dust. Not to mention the G-forces you'll experience _and_ the gravity. How do you plan on fight gravity without going splat?"

Lance rolled his eyes, unimpressed by Hunk's dramatic clap, emphasizing the word 'splat.'

"Well, for starters, I won't be going 'splat,'" Lance said, using finger quotes over the word. "It'll be more like 'splash' seeing as the moon's covered almost entirely by an ocean." Hunk groaned and Lance chuckled. "Besides," the prince added, "jumpers have a built in shield that protects the person jumping from the atmospheric effects and a mild inertial dampener which will help with the abrupt changes in speed and direction. The shield also allows the jumper to be used underwater for a while at least. My suit will provide me with enough air for about one full turn or so. As for the G-force thing…" He trailed of scratching his head in confusion. "I'm honestly not sure what that means."

Hunk heaved a heavy sigh and slumped in his chair. "Okay, fine," he said. "You seem to have thought this through."

"Well yes," Lance agreed, puffing his chest out proudly. "I do have a bit of experience with planning, you know."

"No, I don't know," Hunk said, taking hold of the Yellow Lion's controls once more. "I'm not the best pilot but I'll give you cover for as long as I can."

"Try sticking close to the planet," Lance offered. "The rings and the top layer of gas clouds as well as the planet's magnetic field should make the Galra's systems have a tougher time working properly."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Hunk maneuvered his Lion out from behind the rocky moon they had been hidden behind and immediately dove under the rings. The Galra ships hovered a few miles above the rings closest to Khonsu. Interestingly enough, it looked like the Galra were attempting to scan Tefnut and not the watery moon. Maybe the Galra didn't realize the Blue Lion's location after all. Still, they were too close for Lance's liking.

Lance straightened and made his way to the back of the Yellow Lion's storage compartment behind the cockpit. He slipped on his helmet and made sure it sealed in place before taking hold of his jumper. Despite being 10,000 years old, the metal had somehow stood the test of time. Now it would have to stand the test of nature.

The jumper was a long metal contraption that was wider at the base before tapering off to a rounded tip at the top. Handlebars lined either side of the device and footholds were situated at the back. Lace synced the coordinates in his armband with the jumper's computer system and breathed a sigh of relief when it activated. The blue light flickered, ready for his command.

"Get me in as close to as you can," he ordered. "You might feel a breeze when I make the jump but don't stick around to watch unless you have to."

"I'm not leaving you alone out there, man," Hunk said curtly. "Bros don't do that."

Lance shot the yellow paladin a genuine smile. "Thanks," he said. "I mean it. But I'm also ordering you to leave if the Galra begin to overpower you. It's a lot easier to capture a huge Lion than it is to capture a single Altean on a jumper; especially once I get into the ocean. Water plays hell with Galra equipment. Or at least," he added thoughtfully, "it did last I checked."

"Water is very rarely a good combination with technology in general," Hunk said. "Electricity and water are a deadly combination on a fairly reliable basis."

"Huh. Wouldn't know," Lance said with a shrug.

"I should think not. You're alive after all."

"But am I?"

Hunk paused. "Wait, what? Lance?" he asked, glancing hesitantly over his shoulder at the prince. "What do you mean by that? You _are_ alive, right?"

Lance just smiled.

"Lance?"

"Hold your breath," the prince called.

"Lance!"

There was a thud followed by a rush of air and noise, then abrupt silence and stillness. Lance was gone. He had been standing by the exit door one second then gone the next. Almost like a ghost. Hunk gulped.

A beeping yanked attention back to his main view screen where he noticed a blinking blue signal rushing away from his Lion towards Khonsu's surface. Lance must have space jumped.

"Ugh, crazy idiot," Hunk grumbled, sulking in his chair.

He watched as the Altean sped through space and into the moon's upper atmosphere. The particles of the atmosphere around Lance began to glow as the friction created by the prince's entry heated up. It didn't take long before the prince was no longer visible by the naked eye but the tail of burning, glowing particles trailed behind him the deeper into the moon's atmosphere he dove. Hunk had to magnify the image to still have a view of the prince's speeding form. It looked like Lance had become a mini shooting star.

A loud, urgent alarm accompanied by a deluge of red symbols appearing on his view screen jolted Hunk out of his reverie. It seemed Lance's space jump hadn't been missed by the Galra scanners. The smaller red symbols must be the fighters zipping away from the larger battlecruiser to the Altean prince's small, unprotected form currently zipping down into Khonsu's atmosphere.

"Damn!" he cursed, taking hold of his Lion's controls. "I hope this isn't as stupid as I think it is."

He pushed the control rods forward and felt his Lion burst out from behind the large chunk of rock in the ring debris and sped towards the Galra fighters. Hunk had no live combat experience whatsoever, but he knew how he handled bullies at the Garrison when they picked on him and Pidge. He didn't have to do much, just walk right into them. He knew he was heavy, but it wasn't all fat. He knew how to handle himself.

A deep rumbling purr vibrated his mind and he felt a surge of confidence from Yellow. His Lion knew they could do it; better yet, his Lion _wanted_ to do it.

"Alright," Hunk sighed. "Let's do this."

He heard Yellow roar enthusiastically and together they flew down towards the Galra fighter ships. The Yellow Lion dwarfed the smaller ships by a large margin. It was also heavily armored.

"Time to test this thing," Hunk muttered.

Yellow's jaws opened and clamped down hard on the nearest fighter's craft and slammed into four others in quick succession. He felt his Lion shudder as a few blasts impacted its side. Yellow flicked its tail, opened its mouth and fired a burst of energy at the main Galra ship, damaging its hull. Flames burst from the damaged side but the battlecruiser continued to fire. Hunk dodged, trusting in his Lion's instincts and focused on crushing the fighters he could reach and blasting any that got too close to the prince.

The blazing tail that had followed Lance during his dive through Khonsu's atmosphere was gone leaving behind a smoking trail where he'd been. He must have made it into the lower atmosphere. Reacting to Hunk's silent query, Yellow showed Prince Lance's signal on a map on the left view screen. The main view screen continued to show the Galra fighters so he could accurately chase, blast, and crush them.

"Hunk," Lance's voice sounded over the communicator startling the pilot.

"Lance?!" Hunk gasped, rearing back and slinging a Galra fighter from Yellow's jaws into another. "How? Are you alright?"

"I'm through the upper atmosphere," Lance said. The wind rushing past Lance's face muffled the prince's voice in the microphone making it slightly difficult to understand him. "I think I have a tail."

Hunk took a quick glance at the left view screen and, sure enough, two Galra fighters had somehow gotten past his one-man blockade and were currently chasing Lance. The prince's signal was swerving from side to side in a pattern that indicated he was being shot at.

"I'm going to need some cover fire down here," Lance called.

Hunk abandoned his space battle and made his way down into Khonsu's atmosphere. His Lion shuddered as he made his entry. Lance was still far below. Firing at the Galra fighters was risky with the prince's small form darting back and forth avoiding enemy attacks. He was good, but his jumper caught a glancing blow from one of the purple energy beams. The shield surrounding the jumper and Lance protected them from the full force of the blow, but it wasn't strong enough to absorb the resulting momentum which succeeded in knocking him off course.

Lance managed to recover his balance just as Hunk got close enough to safely fire at the Galra. The Yellow Lion blasted the first fighter and smashed the other in the ocean below with an enormous paw.

"Thanks for that," Lance called. "Almost lost my hold there. You should- Hunk WATCH OUT!"

Hunk didn't know what Lance saw, but he dodged to the right just as a much larger, more powerful beam of purple energy blazed directly where the Yellow Lion had been. Unfortunately, by moving out of the way, Hunk accidentally left Lance exposed. The young Altean prince's jumper shield was strong enough to take a few direct hits from the smaller fighters, but not direct shots from a fully powered Galra battlecruiser. Hunk watched helplessly as the purple beam pierced through the jumper's particle shield with deadly ease and accuracy.

"LANCE!" he screamed.

For a frightening few seconds after the explosion, there was no sign of Lance. Hunk held his breathe and scanned the ocean's deceptively calm surface for any signs of his new alien friend. Metal debris floated on the waves while the lighter debris fluttered down to splash into the water.

Finally, Lance's head and arms broke through the surface and he began treading water.

"Lance-"

"I'm fine," Lance called back over the sputtering communicator. "I'll probably have a few bruises but I'm fine. Watch the ion canon. It'll blow even one of the Lions out of the sky."

"Good to know," Hunk said, turning his Lion to stare back up at the descending Galra battlecruiser.

"Hunk, listen to me," Lance said seriously. "If my sister opens a wormhole, go through it."

"What?!" Hunk cried. "No. No way, man. Friends don't leave friends behind."

"Listen to me!" Lance snapped. "The Yellow Lion _cannot_ be captured by the Galra. I'll stay here and keep looking for the Blue Lion."

"No, no, no. I am not leaving you behind, bro," Hunk insisted, forcing his Lion to turn around and charge the battlecruiser directly.

"Hunk stop!" Lance cried, flailing in the water. "Stop!"

"I'm not leaving without you Lance," Hunk said fiercely.

The battlecruiser's biggest gun which Hunk assumed was the ion canon the prince referred to began to glow as it powered up for another shot. Hunk was not about to let that happen. He activated his Lion's propulsion systems and flew directly at the gun.

 _"Hunk!"_

Hunk ignored his friend's pleading cry and braced for impact. When he hit, there was a flash of something that glowed a translucent purple in an interlocking scale pattern before he was flung back out into the air. Damn it! The canon had a shield around it. He clung to his controls and fought to keep his eyes open and the contents of his stomach _in_ his stomach where they belonged. He recovered control of his Lion just in time to see the can swivel and take aim at him before pushing his Lion's engines to the maximum output.

He felt more than heard the mental roar of pain from his Lion when the heat of the ion canon burned Yellow's exterior armor. It's wasn't serious, thank Pele, but it would need to be seen too soon. It was then that he realized he could still hear Lance screaming at him through his comm unit.

"Hunk!" Lance yelled. "For the Lion's sake, answer me. Get out of here!"

"I told you, I can't do that," Hunk replied. "You're my friend. Friends don't leave friends behind."

"I'll be fine," Lance insisted urgently. "I have a full tock's worth of air in my system. I can stay underwater looking for the Blue Lion. When I find it, I'll catch up to you."

"No idea what a 'tock' is, but it's not good enough."

"Hunk _please!_ Don't make me lose you too!"

 _"Paladins,"_ Allura's voice interrupted calmly.

Hunk looked up and saw an open wormhole hovering in the sky not too far above him.

"Allura, I'm staying behind to get Blue," Lance called.

"Like _hell_ you are," Hunk snapped furiously.

 _"What's going on?"_ the princess demanded, suddenly sounding alert and wary.

"It's the Galra," the Yellow paladin replied. "They were here when we got here. They shot Lance out of the sky."

 _"What?! Lance!"_

"I'm fine, Allura," Lance said quickly, trying to calm his sister down. "I'm in the water. I'll find Blue. Just give me some time."

 _"Shiro and Pidge haven't returned yet,"_ Allura said worriedly. _"I'll send them to join you."_

"No," Lance said, cutting her off. "I have enough air to last me a tock. The Yellow Lion's been damaged. I'll be fine. I'll find the Blue Lion and come join you as soon as I can. Or better yet, regroup and come get me with the Green Lion later."

 _"I…"_ Allura paused, clearly debating her options and not liking either result.

"Allura please trust me," Lance begged. "Hunk go through."

"But-"

"Go through now or you'll get blasted by the ion canon!"

Hunk turned back to the Galra battlecruiser and felt his stomach knot with fear when he saw the ion canon powering up once more. He grit his teeth.

 _"I can't hold the wormhole connection open for much longer,"_ Allura said frantically.

"Go on, Hunk," Lance said quickly. "If I don't contact you from Blue within a tock, come back with Pidge and the Castle and get me."

"I- I can't-"

"The Yellow Lion can't be captured, Hunk. _GO NOW!"_

"You better be here when I get back, jerk," Hunk cried, biting back his tears as he piloted his Lion through the wormhole.

Lance breathed a sigh of relief when the wormhole sealed shut after the Yellow Lion went through. He activated his air system and dove underwater. He didn't have his jumper anymore so searching for Blue would be slow going but, he could still swim.

Wait, why was he moving up?

His eyes widened when his body broke through the ocean's shining blue surface. What the quiznack? He continued to float up into the air. This can't be right. He looked up and recognized the tell-tale purple light of a Galra tractor beam. Terrified, he flailed and struggled to escape the beam's pull. But he was literally suspended in the air with the shattered pieces of his jumper with nothing to grab onto or gain leverage from. Nothing.

A Galra pod flew into the tractor beam directly beneath him and opened its hatch.

"Quiznack," he cursed ticks before the tractor beam's light vanished and he was in free fall.

He landed on his back in a dark room staring up at the gas giant Tefnut hovering high in Khonsu's sky knocking the wind out of him. He gasped as his muscles seized, unable to breathe. His awareness faded as the hatch slid shut, sealing him in darkness.


	5. 5: Cool Welcome

**A/N:** Better late then never. FYI, I chose _Stadig_ as the name of the sloth-like alien because it's the word for "slow" in Afrikaans (at least according to Google). Also, I admit, I Googles some insults often tossed at Elves/Elf-like characters/races by RPG players and the like. My favorite by far is "pointy eared berry munchers." Needless to say, I couldn't resist using it in here. XD **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Hunk reports in, Shiro and Pidge get bad news, and Lance gets bad news and an interesting guard. **  
**

* * *

 **5: Cool Welcome**

The moment the Yellow Lion emerged from the wormhole, Allura closed it. Her heart ached with the thought of her brother alone on that planet with the Galra even _near_ him, but she had a job to do. "Hunk," she called in her microphone. "Are you alright?"

" _I'm fine,_ " came the frazzled pilot's reply. " _My Lion's going to need to be checked out, but it doesn't seem too bad. Princess, Lance-_ "

"I know, Hunk," Allura said, biting her lip as her heart pounded in her chest. "I know. Get your Lion Hanger to its hanger while I check on Pidge and Shiro. Hopefully, they've found the Green Lion by now."

" _And if they haven't?_ "

The princess winced. "Then I may send you to help them search," she said. "Coran and I have been busy all day repairing the Castle's particle barrier in case we come under attack."

" _You mean if the Galra find us,_ " Hunk said grimly.

"Well considering if the Galra _do_ find us, we _would_ be under attack," Coran said offhandedly, "I think both points are the same. Don't you?"

" _Touché_ ," Hunk grumbled.

"We'll give my brother a full tock to find the Blue Lion and contact us," the princess said, stepping down from her pedestal and walked over to one of the side panels where Coran was still typing away furiously. She activated a smaller version of the star map on the view screen and studied it closely. "If he doesn't contact us by then, then we'll go to him."

"I'm not sure we can get the Castle ready for launch by then," Coran said in a worried tone.

" _Wait, wait, wait. Launch?_ " Hunk repeated. " _As in blast off? Get airborne? Fly? What? What the-? You know what? No. I'll deal with that later. Where are Pidge and Shiro?_ "

"Still on the other planet retrieving the Green Lion," Allura said. "I was going to check up on them next but…"

" _Do it,_ " Hunk ordered through the communicator. " _I just parked my Lion. I'm coming up to the bridge now. I'm going to need Pidge's help repairing my Lion._ " A minute or so later, there was a hiss as the yellow paladin burst onto the bridge. "I'm not leaving Lance on that moon alone for any longer than necessary," he said loudly.

Allura's eyes softened as she turned to her paladin. "I do understand," she said. "He's my brother. He's the only blood relation I have left at this point. Don't think for a moment I plan on leaving him there. I _will_ get him back," she swore.

" _We_ will get him back," Hunk corrected. "He may be your brother, but he's our friend." He watched as the princess approached the pedestal once more and said. "You know, back home my country has a branch of the military called the Marines. The Marines have this saying: 'No man left behind.'"

Allura and Coran both paused to listen to the yellow paladin speak.

"I may not be a Marine," Hunk said. "Not by any means. But I follow that mantra. Never leave a friend behind. Lance is my friend." He grinned. "We're bros now."

"Bros? What, you mean like brothers?" Coran asked.

"Yeah, only you typically aren't related," Hunk explained. "It's like a best friend."

Allura smiled and placed her hands on the two control towers that rose to about her waist from the pedestal's base. "I'm glad," she murmured, a soft smile on her face as she activated a wormhole. "But first, Shiro? Pidge? Can you hear me?" she called in a louder voice.

" _Loud and clear princess_ ," Shiro replied.

"Have you located the Green Lion yet?"

" _No_ ," Shiro replied. " _But I think we're close. Long story but we met this big sloth alien who's giving us a ride on his canoe to where we hope the Lion is_."

"Ah, a Stadig. I'm glad they still live. They're a gentle, honest species," the princess said happily. "You can trust them Shiro. They are peaceful by nature."

" _Tolerant too_ ," Shiro added with a cheerful chuckle. " _Pidge has been rambling for the past few minutes but the Stadig just listens and shrugs_."

"That sounds like Pidge alright," Hunk said. "He tends to ramble when he gets nervous."

" _Hunk?_ " Shiro asked in surprise. " _You're back? Did you and Lance find the Blue Lion already?_ "

" _What?!"_ Pidge's voice sounded over the speakers. " _No fair. I wanted to find my Lion first._ "

"Well, it's a bit more complicated than that," Hunk said with a nervous glance at the princess whose brow was furrowed in worry.

"Hunk had to leave Lance behind on the planet-" Coran began.

"Moon," Hunk said suddenly.

"I beg your pardon?" Coran said, turning to the yellow paladin in confusion.

"It's a moon," Hunk clarified. "It was probably snagged by the gas giant's gravity field sometime over the past 10,000 years but it's a moon now."

"Really?" Coran said thoughtfully, twirling his mustache as his eye sparkled. "Interesting. I should like to see tha-"

" _Can we get back to the part about Hunk leaving the prince alone on a moon?_ " Pidge said urgently. It sounded like he was yelling to be heard by Shiro's microphone.

"Oh yes," Coran. "Right. Hunk had to leave Prince Lance on Khonsu to retrieve the Blue Lion on his own."

" _Why?_ " Shiro asked suspiciously.

"Well," Hunk said hesitantly, "you see…"

"The Galra were there," Princess Allura said, her voice overpowering Hunk's. "My brother ordered Hunk to return to the Castle when the Yellow Lion was damaged."

" _Damaged?_ " Pidge exclaimed. " _What the hell? How the quiznack did that happen?_ "

"The Galra had this monster canon that blasted Lance's jumper to smithereens," Hunk said, demonstrating the event with his hands even though he knew Shiro and Pidge couldn't see him.

"That's probably the ion canon," Coran said, typing something into the panel in front of him and pulled up a set of schematics for a weapon. "Our information is 10,000 years out of date, but I'm willing to bet the basic premise of the weapon should be similar."

" _That still leaves the fact you left the prince **alone** with the Galra_ ," Pidge insisted. " _What if they captured him? What if they torture him? What if they find the Blue Lion?_ "

"He ordered me," Hunk said defensively. "He said it was more important that my Lion not get captured."

"And he was absolutely right about that," Coran chimed in. "If the Galra get their hands on the Lions, it could spell imminent disaster."

"What Coran said," Hunk said quickly. "Besides, he was searching for the Lion underwater."

"We're giving him a full tock to look on his own before sending backup," the princess said. "I know my brother. Even if he did get captured, he can stand up to torture. He's a lot stronger than he looks. He wasn't named the Sentinel for anything."

" _What's a tock?_ " Pidge asked stilled.

" _What is a Sentinel?_ " Shiro asked. " _Is that the equivalent of a Commander in Chief?_ "

"I suppose you could say that," Allura replied. "It's the highest title given to a person for a specific set of skills. Concentrate on finding the Green Lion quickly. I trust my brother but I don't trust the Galra. During the Great War, the Galra's technology was limited when water was involved. I fear this weakness may have been overcome during the time we've been asleep."

* * *

When he came to, he was on a cold metal floor. Well, he was half on a cold metal floor. His upper body was being held up in the air by a painful grip on his hair. Tears brimmed in his eyes from each pinprick of pain as individual hairs were yanked out of his scalp, stinging his senses. He gasped involuntarily when the grip suddenly tightened.

"We found him in the ocean of Khonsu," someone said.

"Is that so?"

Lance froze. That voice… He would recognize that voice anywhere. He grew up hearing it in the Castle of Lions, mixing with the voices of the other paladins. He had learned to despise that voice when its owner betrayed the other paladins and destroyed the peace that had settled across the universe. But it had been 10,000 years. The voice… It should be dead.

Terrified of what, or more specifically _who_ he might see, Lance opened his eyes and immediately wished he hadn't. It couldn't be.

"Zarkon," he whispered. His breath left him with that single word; the name of the betrayer.

The image of the Emperor of the Galra Empire, who _should be dead,_ grinned. The main view screen on the bridge of the Galra ship where Lance currently found himself was filled with Zarkon's memorable, disgusting face. A dark, rumbling chuckle reverberated through the speakers from the view screen holding a dead man's image.

"Well, well," the hated voice purred. "When I received word of the Yellow Lion's sighting, I wondered if the Castle of Lions had revived. It seems I was right. Tell me Sentinel of Castle, where is your dear sister? I assume she has returned with you."

Allura. Lance was petrified. What if Zarkon knew about Allura's connection to the Lions? King Alfor had connected the Lions to the princess's life force, but only _after_ the Great War had begun. The few paladins who were still alive when Lance was placed in stasis knew the moment this happened. There was no reason to assume Zarkon was an exception; even if the Black Lion had rejected him beforehand and he was no longer an active paladin by that point.

But what if Zarkon didn't know _who_ the Lions were connected to?

The Altean prince swallowed past his debilitating fear and felt a tear slid down his face from the pain in his scalp. It hadn't been deliberate but Zarkon noticed.

"I see," the Emperor said. "I find it hard to believe Alfor would only save one child and abandon the other. What happened to her? I remember you were both quite close."

"Don't act like you care," Lance hissed. He gritted his teeth when the grip on his hair twisted and jerked his body back and the coldness of a blade brushed his bared throat.

"I don't," the emperor stated simply, as if he was holding a pleasant conversation and not an interrogation. "But given the activation of at least one Lion, your presence here, and the reports of a wormhole through which the Yellow Lion escaped, I find myself wondering who else was revived with you."

Lance bit his tongue hard, swallowing carefully when he felt the blade against his throat press harder.

"Answer the Emperor, you pointy-eared berry muncher!" the Galra holding him commanded. The Galra lifted his knife from Lance's throat just long enough to deliver a sharp jab in the prince's gut from his armored knee before yanking him back up and replacing the knife. This time, Lance felt the blade nick his skin.

Lance coughed and struggled to find enough air to breathe let alone give a verbal reply. Eh, screw the verbal reply. He hacked and spit at Zarkon's image. It couldn't land on the Galra bastard's face like the prince would have preferred, but it felt good and got the point across. Even if the resulting punishment didn't feel too good, it was still absolutely worth it.

The Galra guard struck the prince across the face with enough force to daze him. Lance crumbled to the ground dizzy and disoriented. He could feel his face around his right eye ache. He could probably expect his eye to swell shut later on. Assuming he lived that long, that is.

"Wait."

Zarkon's sharp command confused Lance. Wait? Wait for what? He groaned and rolled over onto his side and noticed something gleam above him. He glanced at the gleam and his eyes widened. A very large, undoubtedly sharp blade was very close to his face. Zarkon's command hadn't been for Lance. It had been for the Galra soldier. Apparently, Zarkon didn't want the prince dead, yet. That thought was both a relief as well as disturbing.

"The Lions are tied to the life force of Alfor's heir," Zarkon said. "This much I know from the previous Blue paladin's time here."

Lance grimaced. He had been forced into stasis before the end of the Great War so he didn't get to see its finale. Nor had he ever found out the ultimate fate of the previous paladins. It appeared Tayla, the Blue paladin, had met a less than graceful death at the hands of the Galra. Lance could only pray her death had been quick. Although, he sincerely doubted his prayers had been answered.

"If the princess is indeed dead," Zarkon continued calmly, "and the Lions are still functioning normally, then it would appear the Sentinel was chosen as the Heir Apparent."

 _He doesn't know_ , Lance realized. _He really doesn't know._

"If the Lions are tied to the Sentinel's life force, then killing him would be…detrimental."

 _Oh quiznack,_ Lance felt his heart pound in his chest. At least this way Allura would be safe for a while at least.

"Keep him in a cell for the time being," the Emperor ordered the Galra soldier.

The prince stiffened.

"My lord, what of the Yellow Lion?" the Galra asked respectfully.

Zarkon hummed. "If you can find it, capture it and bring it to me as well. Your main priority is bringing the Sentinel to me alive and otherwise unharmed. If the Lions are tied to his life force, then he could prove useful."

The Galra knelt. "As you wish. If you would permit, I have one more question."

"What is it?"

"Our long-range sensors have detected a new power source on a planet not far off our course, my lord," the Galra said. "It's signature is similar to that of the Yellow Lion."

"That must be Castle of Lions," Zarkon said, interest coloring his deep voice.

Lance shuddered. Allura. Coran. Hunk. Shiro. Pidge.

The Galra must have detected Allura testing the Castle's systems to figure out which ones needed maintenance and which didn't. Lance vaguely remembered Coran testing out the Castle's long-range sensors. They must need work if the Galra detected the Castle's signal but the Castle didn't detect the Galra. Good to know for later.

Still, it was too soon. Lance remembered studying the results of the Castle-wide systems diagnostic. There was no way the Castle would be ready to leave yet. They would be easy target practice.

"Look into it, but do not dwell on it for long," the emperor ordered. "I want the prince here, Sendak." Zarkon's voice rumbled with pleasure. "Show him the best of Galra hospitality."

"Vrepit sa," the Galra soldier, Sendak, said, kneeling in fealty before his lord.

Without another word, the transmission ended and Zarkon's deplorable image vanished from the Galra ship's main view screen. Stars and the looming presence of the gas giant Tefnut filled the screen in Zarkon's place. The dark, swirling mass of gaseous clouds glowed eerily as the enormous planet eclipsed its parent system's star.

That would be the last glimpse of space Lance would have for a while.

The cell he soon found himself in wasn't small, but it wasn't large either. There was a cot, thankfully. Sendak seemed to take his emperor's wish for hospitality to heart. The prince stood in the corner of his cell, opposite of the cot, and glared at the solid metal door separating him from freedom. This was never supposed to happen. It could have been much worse, granted. But it would have been better if it had never happened in the first place.

Some Sentinel he turned out to be. Without a weapon, he was useless. He was meant to protect the Castle of Lions, to protect the Lions, to protect his _sister_ no matter the cost. That was his duty. Sentinel, the watchman, the guard, the protector. When his father had thrown him into the stasis pod, King Alfor had silently been commanding Lance to watch, guard, and protect Allura at all costs. It was a duty Lance intended to see through to the end.

But there was a small part of him that couldn't help but feel jealous. Allura was the older sibling. She had always been their father's daughter in every way while Lance had been their mother's son. As such, their duties and life experiences had been different despite how much time they had spent together. Neither was better nor worse than the other. They were just different.

Lance loved Allura. He loved his father. But he wanted to live. He wanted to be free. He wanted…

To fly.

He was distracted from his dark thoughts by the heavy metal door sliding open. The prince looked up and was caught off guard by the Galra who stood there holding a mechanical syringe in one hand and a bottle of liquid in the other. The needle should have held more of Lance's attention, but that honor was currently held by the Galra soldier himself.

Instead of the unique, solid gold eyes typical of the Galra species, this Galra had deep violet irises and black pupils that were focused solely on Lance. The Galra's skin was not as furry as most Galra males and his skin was a slightly lighter tone of purple as well. His ears were also covered in a layer of fine, dark purple, almost black fur that appeared soft. The tips of the Galra's ears were tufted and twitched slightly with every sound. He was also shorter than most of the average adult Galra Lance had ever seen.

The soldier was a halfbreed.

"You're the Altean," the Galra halfbreed said mildly.

The Galra halfbreed seemed entirely uninterested in the whole affair almost to the point of apathy. This interested the Altean prince greatly. Plus, who was he to turn down an opportunity to tease?

"I could be," Lance said, crossing his arms and leaning back against his cell's wall. "But then again," he added after a second, using the time to concentrate on shifting, "I could be a Galra."

Lance didn't bother to fight back the smirk when the halfbreed started. The poor Galra probably had not been told about the Altean ability to shapeshift. It didn't take much effort. Lance had only changed his skin tone, eye color, and added ears; nothing overly complicated. But it certainly seemed to have had an effect on the halfbreed.

It took a moment for the halfbreed soldier to shake himself out of his surprise. His unusual violet eyes narrowed. "I've been assigned to you for the duration of the trip," he said.

Lance chuckled. "You say that like you're my servant or something," he teased.

The halfbreed bristled, his hackles rising at the implied insult. "I am _no one's_ servant," he snapped viciously.

"Really?" Lance asked innocently. "Then I'm confused. If you're not my servant, then what do you mean by 'assigned' to me?"

The halfbreed almost went for the bait. He clearly wanted to. He was practically vibrating with the desire to pounce. It reminded the prince of something his father used to speak about. As the Sentinel, Lance had been schooled in the different social practices, ethics, morals, and cultures of a variety of species in order to protect his sister, the diplomat, should the need arise. One lesson in particular came to mind now.

The Galra were separated into three main classes as far as sexuality was concerned: alpha, beta, and omega. Gender had nothing to do with the sexual designation. It was a genetic trait that affected the body's hormones and pheromones in certain ways resulting in any Galra falling into one of the three categories.

Alphas tended to be leaders, relied mostly on instinct, and were known for their possessiveness. Betas were less aggressive in nature than alphas but were just as readily chosen for leadership positions. Omegas were the only one of the three classes that experienced heats: cyclical periods of fertility and infertility that varied from omega to omega. All three classes tended to be possessive of their mates, but alphas were the worst. If an alpha's mate died, they would often fall into a state of rage and destroy anything and everything until death finally came to them.

The Galra were purists when it came to their species. It was no secret that halfbreeds were not treated very well. Nevertheless, Lance doubted bribery would work on the halfbreed. The Galra were notoriously loyal to their emperor. But when it came to each other, they were loyal only as long as they had the upper hand. Mates, or prospective mates, however, were treated with a loyalty that was absolute. Very few Galra would choose their emperor over their own mate.

Lance could work with this. He wasn't afraid of sexuality. He was comfortable with his body, no matter how it appeared on the outside. He could maybe even enjoy this. The only question now was to determine which sexual class this halfbreed fall into to determine how to pull the Galra's strings correctly. Only one way to find out.

"Are you ever going to answer me?" he pressed.

"It's none of your business," the halfbreed said coldly.

Lance shrugged. "Too embarrassed to say then."

"Like hell I am," the Galra hissed.

"Then why the needle?" the prince asked with a dark grin. "Didn't think you could handle me without knocking me out first?"

He had been expecting a reaction, but he hadn't expected dull nails digging into his throat as his back slammed against the cell wall. Lance gasped and glared at the halfbreed who now stood very much in his personal space.

"Hardly," the Galra said. "You're not too hard to subdue."

He wasn't sure what made him do it. Call it intuition, suspicion, or simple curiosity. But something in that moment made Lance tilt his neck up and to the side, baring his jugular to his captor in a sign of submission. His eyes never left the halfbreed's violet irises.

Thus, he didn't miss the not-so-subtle widening of the halfbreed's eyes or the flaring of his nostrils or the way his ears instantly flipped forwards, twitching excitedly. Alpha then.

"I'm sorry," Lance said softly, gratified to see the halfbreed's eyes skip from his bared neck to meet his own. Lance resumed is natural Altean skin with a sigh. "I didn't mean to push you. I'm Lance."

The halfbreed seemed flummoxed by the sudden shift in his position of power. Clearly he wasn't used to people submitting to him even though he was an alpha. Intriguing.

"What should I call you?" Lance asked, keeping his head tilted back neck bare.

The halfbreed swallowed before answering. "Keithek."

The Altean prince smiled. "Eh, too long. I prefer Keith," he said simply.

The fire returned to the halfbreed's -Keith's- eyes and Lance grinned.

He could definitely work with this.


	6. 6: Tepid Visit

**A/N:** Yes, I did make juniberries drug berries. Think plants that can be made into a drink or snack that is known to cause states of euphoria, heightens senses, and is often used as an aphrodisiac.

 **Chapter summary:** In which the Green Lion is found, Hunk disapproves of Allura's new friends, and Lances tests Keith's interest, for science of course.

* * *

 **6: Tepid Visit**

 _"We found the Green Lion!"_ Pidge's voice shouted.

Hunk winced as his teammate's voice echoed within the Castle's walls. He swore he even heard the speakers vibrate.

"I have the wormhole stable for the moment," the princess said quickly. Sweat dripped from her brow as she focused all of her concentration on keeping the wormhole open. "But I won't be able to do so for much longer."

 _"We're coming, your highness,"_ Shiro said, his voice much calmer than Pidge's. _"We should be coming through any minute."_

"Minute," Coran muttered. "We really need to compare time keeping patterns."

Approximately thirty seconds later, a bright green mechanical lion burst through the wormhole. When the Lion left the vicinity of the wormhole and approached the Castle, the princess heaved a heavy sigh and slumped weakly to the floor.

"Princess!" Hunk cried, rushing to catch Allura before she hit the floor.

"Allura!" Coran said, wiping away the sweat from the Altean woman's face. "Are you alright?"

Allura took several deep breaths before nodding and standing back up with Hunk's help. "I'm fine," she said. "Just a headache." She blinked and tilted her head as if listening to something. "Do you hear that?" she asked.

"Hear what?" Hunk asked.

"It could be the hanger door closing," Coran said uncertainly. "But we're a bit too far up to hear it normally."

But Allura was shaking her head. "No," she said. "It's like voices, but not."

"You mean like how my Lion talks to me?" Hunk asked. He straightened in excitement. "Is it Lance? Do you hear the Blue Lion? Or is it the Red Lion?"

Again, the princess shook her head. "No, that's not how it works," she said firmly. "Only the paladins can hear the inner thoughts and emotions of their Lions."

She pushed away from the yellow paladin's arms and tilted her head. "I think…" She huffed and gathered up her skirt before running out of the bridge and down the hall.

"Um, princess?" Hunk called.

He chased after Allura with Coran wondering what the heck was going on? This was just a complete and total mess. Yesterday, he was just a cadet in the Galaxy Garrison hoping to one day go to space. In the span of a single night and day, he was now the pilot of giant, sentient, mechanical robot cat, working with three 10,000-year-old people, one of whom was missing -his fault- kind of, sort of living in an ancient, possibly magical castle in space, fighting purple space Nazis, and now chasing a princess down a hall. By Pele, what did he ever do to deserve this?

When he looked up, he realized they were heading to the healing pod chamber. Oh no, please say there wasn't _another_ sleeping ancient person to deal with. Hunk wasn't sure if he could handle another space elf running around.

The door to the chamber slid open and the princess stopped abruptly. Coran barely managed to stop before bumping into Allura, but Hunk couldn't slow down as quickly. Mass and inertia are a thing, after all. Hunk slammed into Coran who bumped into Allura who fell to her hands and knees, grunting on impact.

"Princess, are you alright?" Coran said urgently.

"Um, what just happened?" Hunk asked, rubbing his sore bottom from his own unflattering landing. "Guys?" Hunk asked again when he only heard a faint squeak in reply to his question. "Guys?"

He leaned over Coran's shoulder and only saw the princess's back. Both Alteans were staring at something on the floor in front of Allura. "What's going on? What'cha lookin' at?" he asked.

He scooted over to get a better look, and promptly shrieked like a little girl.

"Quiznack! What was that for?" Coran exclaimed, placing a hand over his heart as he stared at the yellow paladin in shock.

"Those are mice," Hunk said from his spot on the other side of the hallway pointing at the four tiny, furry creatures cradled in the princess's hands. "She's _holding_ mice." He stiffened as a horrible realization crept over him. "There are mice in this Castle? Are there rats too? I think I'm going to puke."

"Why?" Allura asked, her beautiful face open in honest confusion. "They're so cute." They lifted the mice in her cupped hands up to her cheek and cuddle them.

"They're _mice!"_

"They're adorable," Allura insisted, placing a kiss on the largest mouse.

Hunk flinched, then he made yet another realization. "It's green. That mouse is freakin' _green!_ What is going on? Oh my god, they're all different colors. Rainbow mice?!"

"Hunk, please calm down," the princess said with a sigh. "I think you're overreacting."

"No, no, no I'm not," Hunk said, shaking his head wildly. "Mice and rats are disease carriers. They're dirty, germ-infested, rodents."

The princess actually looked hurt and held her rodent companions close to her chest protectively. "Hunk," she whispered.

"That was a bit harsh, don't you think?" Coran said.

"Um, no. Mice are bad news," Hunk said.

The princess sniffed. "Just because you don't like them, doesn't mean they're bad," she said.

"Yeah well on my planet, mice helped spread one of the worst plagues in human history," Hunk said. "Okay, technically it was the fleas unique to _rats_ not mice exactly, but rats and mice are the same in my book!"

"Then blame the fleas, not the mice," Allura said, allowing two of the mice, including the big green one, to scamper up to her shoulder.

Hunk stood and crossed his arms in a huff. "Well excuse me for not trusting a creature indirectly responsible for the death of over half of the human population of an entire continent back home. It was a horrible way to die and it still exists on some parts of the world. Do you know what the people of the time called that disease? The Black Death."

The princess's face eased when she listened to her paladin explain. Her eyes grew sad and she ran two fingers over the fur of blue mouse still in her hand. A _blue_ mouse. A blue. Freaking. Mouse.

"I understand," Allura said gently. "I do. But I would like it if you could try to give them a chance." Her clear blue eyes lifted to Hunk's. "Please." Her lips quirked in a smile that reminded the yellow paladin of Lance. It wasn't a necessarily good feeling. "Especially considering we're mentally linked," she added.

"Wait, wha-"

 _"What?!"_ Coran shouted.

Hunk winced. Who knew the old man had such powerful lungs?

The royal advisor stuttered inelegantly. "But- How- What?"

"I- I don't know," the princess said. Her head tilted as if listening to something. "Oh. Oh my. That's…interesting. I've never heard of that happening before."

"Please tell me you're not talking to a mouse," Hunk said, feeling a sinking feeling settle in his stomach. He was really getting that feeling a lot over these past couple days.

Allura shot him a wry glance. "This coming from someone can communicate with a mechanical Lion." She lifted a stark white eyebrow ironically and Hunk slumped.

"Right," Hunk admitted reluctantly.

"They said they got frozen in the cryopod with me but they didn't wake up until after we'd already left the room," she said. "I think all that time together must have connected our minds somehow."

Coran hummed. "While I've never heard of that happening per say, it is possible."

"How?" Hunk asked.

"How what?"

The group turned to see Shiro and Pidge walking up to them.

"Sorry it took so long," Shiro said. "We thought you were on the bridge."

"We were when-"

"Look!" Allura said, standing and turning to show her new mouse friends. "I have new friends."

Shiro stopped and stared. Pidge straightened his glasses and fearlessly ran up to the mouse in Allura's hands. "You have pets?" he asked.

"No, were mentally linked," the princess explained gently.

"Woah! Telepathic mice!" Pidge grinned. "That's so cool."

"You would," Hunk grumbled. "Hey Shiro, doesn't this bother you? Like, at all?"

Shiro just sighed and shrugged. "I've seen weirder so no, not really."

Hunk groaned and Shiro smiled at his friend sympathetically.

"I'm glad you're all here now," the princess said suddenly, gaining everyone's attention. "Now we can focus on getting my brother back." Her eyes sparkled with stern determination. "We _will_ get him back."

* * *

Lance was lying on the floor because quite frankly it was more comfortable than the cot. He was still a bit surprised there was a cot in his cell at all. In fact, for a cell, this wasn't too bad. He'd heard stories of worse back during the Great War. The prince suspected the only reason he was given this 'nice' cell at all was because Zarkon wanted him alive and unharmed.

Well, Lance thought wryly, unharmed wasn't necessarily true anymore. His right eye was completely swollen shut and sore, the slice on his neck was scabbing over, and his gut still ached from the unwelcome impact of the Galra Sendak's knee. He sighed and shifted so his head rested on his bent arms. It stretched his aching stomach muscles but not badly enough to deal with sleeping with his head on the cold, hard floor. Lance valued comfort. What was a slight inconvenience for comfort's sake?

Besides, as long as he lay directly on the ground and closed his eyes, he could feel the vibrations of the battlecruiser. Based on what he was feeling, the cruiser wasn't traveling by a slipstream which meant they weren't traveling far or very fast, relatively speaking. In fact, as far as Lance could tell, the cruiser barely left orbit around Khonsu.

If the Galra were planning on investigating the power source Sendak said was similar to the Yellow Lion's, which Lance sincerely hoped wasn't the Castle or another Lion, then they didn't seem to be in a rush to get there. Unless the signal they first received was a burst that was too short to narrow down the exact origin, but long or powerful enough to attract attention. That mean the Galra's detection systems had been upgraded. Not a surprise considering 10,000 years had passed. When the prince got out of here, he would have to get Coran to work on masking the Castle's signal.

That still didn't explain why, or more importantly _how_ Zarkon was still alive. Had he been placed in a cryopod too?

The metal beat of drone soldiers marching passed Lance's door rumbled through the floor. It was maddening. There was nothing to do here but be still. It was driving Lance insane. He needed stimulation. He need someone to talk to. He needed something to _do._

More steps approached his door, but these weren't the sharp metal clunks of drones. They also stopped at his door. Then the door opened. Lance grinned.

"Why are you smiling?"

"Because you came back," Lance said.

"You had no way of knowing it was me," Keith said derisively.

Lance just shrugged. "And yet I did," he said simply.

Keith breathed a heavy sigh through his nose. "Are you always this annoying?" he said.

It was a rhetorical question but Lance answered anyway because he knew it would bother Keith. "No, usually I'm worse. I haven't had any juniberry juice yet," he said with a not-completely-faked sigh of longing.

"Juniberry?" Keith repeated in befuddlement. "What the jurt is that?"

"Jurt?" Lance said, furrowing his eyebrows without opening his eyes. "I've never heard that word before."

"Well, you are an old man," Keith said.

Lance's felt the urge to twitch.

"I'm not surprised you haven't heard of the latest curse words," the halfbreed continued. "Old people tend to be out of the loop on a lot of current events."

Those were fighting words. It took all of the prince's concentration to remain still. He would have his revenge. Keith was walking up to him as he spoke. Just a few more steps and he'd be within reach. Just keep him talking.

"Yeah well," Lance said. "You young people today have no concept of alcohol either. I bet you're not even of legal age to drink. Even by Altean standards."

"I can too drink," Keith snapped.

"But you've never had juniberry juice, so it doesn't count," Lance said dismissively. He took a deep breath in through his nose, as if sniffing the air. "I remember it. The scent of juniberries in the crisp evening, the way it burned my throat as it went down, the warmth that followed." He hummed, listening to Keith come slowly closer.

"I bet you were under age," Keith said.

"Considering the drinking age on Altea was annulled for the night of the juniberry festival, that hardly mattered much," Lance said with a smirk. "Quiznack, the party would go all night. I had my first kiss at the festival. Don't remember who it was, I was too drunk. But by the Lions, it was amazing."

"You kissed someone?" Keith demanded.

"Why?" Lance asked, finally cracking his one eye open to see the halfbreed standing directly beside him. "Jealous?"

He acted before Keith had a chance to respond. He freed one of his arms and reached out, grabbing the corner of Keith's uniform and yanking hard. The halfbreed was caught off guard by the sudden move and collapsed onto the floor half on top of Lance, half off. Lance followed Keith's momentum and rolled them so Keith was pinned underneath him.

He dearly wished he could see the Galra halfbreed's face clearly, but his swollen right eye prevented that. He did _not,_ however, miss seeing Keith's face darken to a deep mauve. Whether it was from fury or something else, Lance didn't bother to find out. Keith's ears pinned to his head and his violet irised eyes narrowed in what Lance assumed was anger. The halfbreed hissed and used his superior strength to flip their positions so Lance was beneath him.

Lance was limber and flexible, but he was not the strongest warrior out there. He relied on speed and distance attacks more than close combat. He was good at hand-to-hand combat, but he honestly just preferred to shoot the enemy from a distance and get it over with. He knew the instant Keith switched their places that he would not be able to escape, but that didn't stop him from trying. He had a goal in mind and he would reach it.

Lance struggled in Keith's hold forcing the halfbreed to press him to the cold floor. "Yield," Keith commanded fiercely.

"Quiznack yourself," Lance snapped.

That seemed to do the trick. Keith's eyes gleamed angrily at the challenge. He placed a knee on the prince's stomach and grabbed hold of both of Lance's wrists, pinning the Altean firmly to the floor. He bared his teeth, which weren't as sharp or as large as a full-blooded Galra's, and hissed viciously. He put all of his weight on the three points of contact and growled with all the force of the alpha he was, "Yield!"

Lance instantly fell still. He held Keith's gaze with an equal amount of force for a full five ticks; long enough for Keith to growl and dig his nails -those were as sharp as a full-blooded Galra's apparently- into Lance's wrists. Only then did the prince tilt his head back to bare his throat in submission.

Lance never looked away from Keith's face so he saw the moment Keith broke eye contact to stare at Lance's neck. He saw the surprise register in the halfbreed's eyes at the submissive action, followed closely by pleasure and pride. But when Keith looked back up to Lance's eyes, something he saw there made his violet eyes darken in comprehension.

"Why?" he demanded.

"Why what?" Lance asked, keeping his head tilted back.

"Why are you submitting to me?" Keith pressed. "You aren't an omega, or a beta. As far as I know, you may not even have those dynamics in your dead society."

"Dead?" Lance said mildly. "Could a dead person do this?" He rolled his hips and relished the look of complete and utter shock wash over the alpha face. "Incidentally," he added, managing to curl and stretch his middle fingers down to brush Keith's wrists teasingly, "Alteans don't have those dynamics. But that doesn't mean we never found them fascinating, or even," he licked his lips, "attractive."

Keith seemed unable to move. Lance could practically see the halfbreed's mind bog down in confusion from the influx of signals Lance was giving him. It was very likely very few other Galra, if any, had ever openly or willingly submitted to Keith before, even though he was an alpha. Lance was counting on that possibility.

"Attractive?" Keith asked, perhaps a bit more breathless than he meant to be.

"The thought of submitting to someone else?" Lance asked rhetorically. "Trusting them with yourself? Only that person and no one else? Oh yes," the prince purred, and no, he didn't miss the way Keith's throat gulped, "very attractive."

Keith blinked, attempting to regain his focus. "Are you _trying_ to seduce me?" he asked.

Lance shrugged as best he could from his position. "Is it working?" he asked with a teasing grin.

Surprisingly, Keith actually considered the question before answering. "Why?" he finally asked.

"Why what? Why am I trying to seduce you?" Lance asked. Keith nodded and Lance hummed. "Well," he said, drawing out the word playfully, "assuming I _am_ trying to seduce you, which I refuse to confirm or deny by the way, then I could only assume it's because I find you attractive? Or maybe I just really want to see what's inside your pants. Or both."

"My pants?" Keith asked in confusion. "Why… We're both male. We're not that different anatomically speaking-"

Lance groaned and let his head thunk to the ground. "Really? Anatomically? _That's_ where you went with that?"

Keith sat back slightly in annoyance. "Where was I supposed to go?"

Lance closed his one good eye and sighed. "Oh quiznack," he grumbled. "I can already tell this is going to be interesting."

"If you don't have the same sexual dynamics as we do," Keith said, "then how do you decide who mates with who?"

Seriously, this guy though. So freaking dense.

"Really? You're asking me a question like that while we're in this position?" Lance muttered, rolling his eye dramatically. Keith didn't answer, he just sat there on top of Lance and waited. "Ugh, fine. We're free about it."

"It?"

"Sex." Lance relaxed and settled into a more comfortable position, bending his right leg up comfortably. "We don't care who had sex with who as long as it was consensual on all sides. We all have bodies, skin, desires, you get the idea. Our sense of touch is one of our strongest senses."

"You would have sex with someone other than your chosen mates?" Keith snarled.

"No," Lance said firmly, shaking his head. "Not unless it was mutually agreed upon by all parties involved. Some couldn't stand the idea of their partner with someone else. I'm like that."

Keith gave the prince an odd look. "You have a mate?"

"Quiznack no," Lance said. "But I like to play the field." He winked. Well, it would have been a wink except he only had one eye at the moment so it was more like a blink.

Keith hissed and sat up suddenly. "You're a bastard."

"But I'm a sexy bastard," Lance said, sitting up slowly. He propped himself up on his forearms and watched the halfbreed move away.

He waited until Keith reached the door before calling, "You never did tell me why you came to visit me." He grinned. "Admit it, you missed me."

Keith stilled. "You're delusional."

Lance didn't bother fighting back the chuckle that bubbled in his chest when Keith was gone. Keith was interested. Or at the very least, he was curious. Curiosity was such an interesting thing. Curiosity drove King Alfor to create the Lions and Voltron. Even Keith wasn't immune to the insatiable pull. Not that Lance was complaining. He had had a very nice view of the halfbreed's behind and by the Lions, he wanted that.

Maybe he could adjust his escape plan a bit. Escape pods could fit two people easily, after all. Right?


	7. 7: Lukewarm Decisions

**A/N:** This chapter is a bit shorter than I prefer, but it felt like it should end where it does. Keith finally gets his chance to shine. I'm seriously tired so I'll edit this tomorrow.

 **Chapter summary:** In which Keith thinks, Haxus is challenged, the Lions return to Khonsu, and Sendak in an insidious bastard. **  
**

* * *

 **7: Lukewarm Decisions**

When he heard the quiet chuckle through the door, he was glad he didn't leave right away like he should have. The prisoner was not like any other prisoner Keithek had ever seen. Most were terrified, submissive, and begged for their lives. Even the infamous Champion had begged in the beginning; or so Keithek had been told. The only interactions Keithek had even had with the Champion was a handful of times they crossed each other in the hallways on transport cruisers ferrying the Champion from arena to arena.

From what Keithek could remember, the Champion had been cold, distant, serious. His determination to live and his survival instincts were something even the Galra had grudgingly come to respect.

Keithek felt the faintest sense of jealousy wash over him. The Champion was just a prisoner but he had the Galra's respect. He had earned it through hard work and constantly defeating anything and everything the Empire threw at him in the arena. Then he escaped.

It was infuriating. The Champion was not even part Galra but he had garnered more respect and acceptance from the Galra than Keithek had ever managed. The Galra valued purity in their race. Keithek's status as a halfbreed all but guaranteed he would never amount to anything more than a low level foot soldier. Especially since Sendak was his current commander.

Keithek was not originally supposed to be on this particular ship. He was assigned to go to the mines on one of the Balmera in the nearest quadrant. But the cruiser he would have taken had two Druids on board. It had taken some convincing to convince the officer in charge to allow Keithek to be transferred to this battlecruiser since it was the first one to come along that did not have an active duty Druid on board.

Then the Yellow Lion appeared on that planet that had only recently been charted then vanished just as quickly. Sendak had become obsessed with chasing down that Lion based on some children's tale. Keithek had thought Sendak was losing his mind.

Until the Altean appeared.

Alteans were a long dead species, obliterated by the great Emperor Zarkon nearly 10,000 years ago. Even their mythical home planet had been lost when the star swelled and absorbed the planet into its fiery inferno. Or so the legend goes.

Keithek glanced back the Altean prisoner's cell. He knew the Altean was there. He'd seen him, _spoken_ to him. Hell, Keithek had been the one to capture him with his ship. That was the only reason why Keithek had been assigned to periodically check on the Altean. Apparently Zarkon wanted him alive and healthy.

Lance.

Keithek felt his stomach flutter uneasily as he remembered the Altean's name. It was strange to be named after a weapon, and the Altean was certainly a weapon in his own right. He had caught Keithek completely off guard in there. If he'd wanted to, Lance could have disabled him and escaped easily.

But he didn't.

Why?

Lance hadn't seemed to be worried about his wellbeing. In fact, he was almost carefree. And he'd recognized Keithek without opening his eyes, er, eye. Although why Lance insisted on calling him 'Keith' instead of his full name was beyond him. Lance had even gone so far as to _flirt_ and _bare his throat_ to him. The act of blatant submission had caught Keithek off guard, but he wouldn't deny that it pleased him. For once, someone had submitted to him because they _wanted_ to, not because they felt they had to.

Keithek had expressed as an alpha at puberty but no one had given him a second look. Sendak was also an alpha as were most commanders. Keithek had the same base instincts and tendencies, but because he was a halfbreed, he wasn't pure. No self-respecting Galra omega or beta had ever considered him as a plausible mate. Many didn't even bother acknowledging his alpha status. He'd had to fight to be acknowledged for everything in life.

It was the only way he had been able to become a fighter pilot. No Galra had ever been able to match Keithek's flight records. It had been this skill that had given him the reckless confidence to fly directly into the battlecruiser's tractor beam and allow himself to get caught in the pull. Thankfully, someone in charge deactivated the tractor beam and the Altean fell straight into Keithek's fighter. Because of this, the prisoner was placed under Keithek's care.

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, the Altean had been different from anything Keithek had ever experienced. For once, someone was challenging Keithek in a way that wasn't meant to be offensive? In fact, the Altean… Lance. Lance had even submitted to him, fully aware of what he was doing and the possible consequences of his actions. It had been unexpected and, strangely, not unwelcome.

"Soldier!"

Keithek immediately stepped to the right, back to the hallway wall, and saluted with his right fist over his sternum. "Sir."

"What is the state of the prisoner?"

Jurt, it was Haxus.

"His eye is swollen shut, but otherwise he is recovering," Keithek replied stiffly.

Haxus hummed. "Accursed berry-addicted pacifist," he grumbled under his breath.

"Berries sir?" Keithek asked. The Altean had mentioned something about berries when they spoke earlier. Juniberries, if Keithek remembered correctly.

Haxus gives Keithek a look that's an odd mix between disbelief and a glare. Then he nodded as if just understanding something. "That's right," he said. "You're a halfbreed. No reason you would be taught about a formerly extinct species."

The insult to his heritage was nothing new so Keithek let it pass. Haxus began walking down the hallway, gesturing with his head for the halfbreed to follow. "The Alteans were a sickeningly pacifistic race," he explained. "They would change their physical form to please other races as if they were ashamed of their own race. They also engaged in needless partying that often resulted in obnoxious behavior and sexual promiscuity. The concept of a single mate had no meaning to them. Disgusting," he said, sneering hatefully.

Keithek listened closely, absorbing the information with interest. "What about the juniberries?"

"Juniberries?" Haxus said, halting in the middle of the hallway to stare at the halfbreed in surprise and open suspicion.

"The prisoner mentioned them when I checked his wounds," Keithek explained.

"He spoke to you? Willingly?" Haxus said, his arched eyebrows lowering to form a thick, dark line over his cold, golden eyes. "Fascinating. I suppose lower lifeforms would tend to be more sympathetic to others in similar states. Perhaps this can be useful."

Without another word, Haxus strolled calmly away, likely to report to Commander Sendak. Keithek did his best to control his emotions, but he could not prevent a deep throated growl from escaping. Haxus must have heard it because he paused and turned back to Keithek revealing his sharp, yellow teeth in a grin and gave a growl of his own.

Instead of backing down as most in Keithek's position would, the halfbreed bared his own teeth in challenge. That did not sit well with Haxus at all. The battlecruiser's second-in-command, narrowed his eyes and his growl became a snarl. Haxus spun and pounced at the halfbreed,

Keithek anticipated the attack and was ready for it. He ducked and dodged to the right. The rush of air accompanied Haxus' body as the battlecruiser's second-in-command dove at where Keithek had stood mere ticks before. But Keithek was no longer there. He had a split-tick to notice the halfbreed on his left before the wind was knocked out of him by a knee in his gut and a fist pounded down on his back, forcing him to the ground.

Furious, Haxus snatched the fabric of the halfbreed's uniform and dragged him down as well. The two Galra grappled for the advantage. The halfbreed was strong, but he relied on instinct and an on-the-fly defense strategy. This had served him well in flight and would have aided him in hand-to-hand combat with a less trained officer. But Haxus had several years more experience than the rebellious halfbreed. Thus, he very soon had the halfbreed pinned down on beneath him.

The halfbreed struggled to get out of Haxus's hold, but lying on his stomach with the bigger, larger Galra kneeling on his back made his resistance difficult. Then Haxus grabbed the halfbreed's flailing right arms and held it firmly against the rebel's back.

"Yield," Haxus commanded.

"Make me."

Haxus roared and clamped his jaws on the back of the halfbreed's vulnerable neck and held him fast. It only took a few moments before the brat finally stilled, submitting to Haxus superior power. However, Haxus continued to hold the halfbreed alpha for a full minute after the brat submitted just because he could. When he finally released the halfbreed, he was pleased to see the bleeding holes in the brat's neck forming an almost perfect circle.

"If you ever even think of challenging me again," Haxus whispered against the halfbreed's ears, watching them twitch as his breath tickled the fur there. "I'll kill you."

The halfbreed shuddered but made no other response. Satisfied, Haxus stood and straightened his uniform before strolling away. He never looked back so he never saw the downright murderous look Keithek shot at his back.

* * *

When the Green Lion followed the Yellow Lion through the wormhole, Pidge was amazed. The gas giant was huge in the sky and surrounded by breathtaking rings. Below them was a large expanse of sparkling blue-green water.

"Wow," Pidge whispered.

"Yeah," came the reply.

Pidge blushed. He was still getting used to his official paladin suit of armor. The communicator in his helmet was automatically turned on. He had to actively turn it off in order to have a private conversation, or talk to himself.

"It's beautiful," Shiro agreed from his spot behind Pidge.

And then there was the fact someone was sitting, or actually standing right behind him in the Lion's cockpit.

"Is the whole planet like this?" Shiro asked curiously.

"Yeah," Hunk replied over the radio. "There's ice at the poles, but otherwise yeah, the whole thing's one big ocean. Cool, huh?"

"Aw, no beaches," Pidge groaned.

Hunk's laughter filled the Green Lion's cockpit. "Yeah, I feel you."

"Where did you last see the prince?" Shiro asked, his eyes scanning the water's surface for debris or signs of a body or something.

"Um, I'm not sure exactly," Hunk admitted. "There aren't any landmarks and I was a bit busy trying to fight off the Galra."

"No one's blaming you, Hunk," Shiro said, trying to placate his fellow paladin.

"Of course we aren't," Allura said over the speakers. "You were following orders and kept the Yellow Lion from falling into the Galra's hands."

"I know, but Lance-"

"Hunk," Allura said gently, "please. No one is blaming you but yourself. Help us find my brother and the Blue Lion."

"I'm just sorry we can't come help you yet," Coran added. "We simply can't get the Castle ready for launch for another few days."

"We understand, Coran," Shiro said. "Just keep working on it. We'll look for the prince-"

"Lance," Hunk said suddenly.

Shiro smiled and even though his smile wasn't visible, it was audible in his voice. "Lance then. We'll find him, princess," he said.

"I believe you," Allura said. "I can keep the wormhole open for two tocks at most. Hunk, your Lion should remember the signal from Lance's jump suit communicator. Ask your Lion to scan for it."

Hunk nodded before remembering no one could see him. "R-right," he said. "And how do I do… Oh."

Thoughts, not words so much as images and impressions, flowed into the yellow paladin's mind. Hunk knew instinctively that it was his Lion. He got a flash of Lance treading water in the ocean of Khonsu followed closely by an overlay of a signal on a grid map. Then a negative impression.

That couldn't be good. "Um, I'm not sure how to say this," Hunk began hesitantly, "but I don't think Lance is here anymore."

"What do you mean he isn't there?" Allura said urgently.

"Yeah, how do you know that?" Pidge demanded. "We just got here."

Hunk sighed in exasperation. "I don't really know how to explain it, but I think my Lion is telling me it doesn't detect Lance's jumper suit signal on the moon anymore. I don't think he's here."

"Then where the fuck is he?" Pidge exclaimed.

"Pidge, language," Shiro said absently.

The green paladin rolled his eyes. "Fine, where the quiznack is he?"

"Pidge language," Allura said.

"Your brother said it," Pidge countered petulantly. "I'll stop saying it when he does."

"Which will be never I'm afraid," Coran groaned.

"And whose fault is that?" Allura grumbled.

"Uh, well…"

"Guys," Shiro said just loudly enough to get attention. "Focus. If Lance isn't here, then where did he go?"

"You don't think he was captured, do you? Oh god, please say he wasn't captured," Hunk moaned. "What if they did capture him? What if they torture him? What if they kill him? What if they-"

"Hunk, please."

Hunk fell silent at the princess's quiet plea.

"Go ahead and do a full system scan of Khonsu," the princess requested. "If you find Lance or the Blue Lion, contact me immediately. You won't be able to reach it, but at least we'll know where it is. Hopefully, we can get full power back to the Castle and come get the Blue Lion after we retrieve my brother. In the meantime, while you're scanning, Coran and I will continue to work on the Castle."

"Understood," Shiro answered promptly. "Okay guys," he said to his fellow paladins. "Let's do this."

* * *

"Sir," Haxus said upon entering the bridge.

"What is it?" Commander Sendak said, tilting his head but not looking away from the screen he was focused on.

"It's the prisoner. He's talking." Haxus waited until Sendak turned around, now wholly focused at his second-in-command.

"Is he?" Sendak asked. "What is he saying?"

"He didn't speak to me, sir," Haxus admitted. "He spoke to the halfbreed."

Sendak narrowed his one remaining biological eye. "Is that so?"

Haxus nodded. "I doubt he said anything of interest, but I thought you would want to know. Emperor Zarkon wished for the prince alive and unharmed, but he witnessed you punching him."

"Your point?" Sendak snapped.

Haxus shrugged. "He is undoubtedly expecting a wound there," he said. "But would he have any idea how bad that wound might be?"

Comprehension began to dawn. "If we do interrogate him, we'll have to take care not to leave any marks," the commander considered.

"One more thing."

"I'm listening."

"The halfbreed challenged me."

Sendak snorted.

"I put him in his place, of course," Haxus reassured his commander. "But considering he was the only one the berry-muncher spoke to and the challenge-"

"You doubt his loyalties," Sendak said thoughtfully.

"Well, he isn't a pure Galra," Haxus said.

Commander Sendak nodded. "Keep an eye on him. In the meantime," he grinned, "perhaps I'll pay a little visit to our guest."


	8. 8: Warm Temptation

**A/N:** No Team Voltron in this chapter, sorry. Just some Lance an Klance. Team Voltron returns next chapter. Promise. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Sendak tests Lance's endurance and Lance tests Keith's endurance with a very tempting challenge. **  
**

* * *

 **8: Warm Temptation**

Lance had lain back down on the ground after Keith left. That had been about an hour ago and honestly, he was getting bored. Keith was interesting, not to mention good looking. Lance wasn't sure how long he'd been on the battlecruiser but he could feel the vibrations of the ship as it picked up speed. That was interesting, but there was still nothing to do.

Finally, he stood and began pacing. His eye was giving him difficulty discerning depth accurately. He rolled his one good eye and walked up to the cell door. There was an access panel by the door, but it would be useless to try to use it because Galra technology, like Altean technology, was genetically locked. Only Galra could access Galra technology and only Alteans could access Altean technology. Besides, one of the first things Lance had tried after getting tossed in here was try to hack the panel. No luck.

Footsteps reverberated from the hallway, footsteps Lance didn't immediately recognize. Then the door slid open revealing Commander Sendak and another Galra the prince didn't recognize. Keith was nowhere in sight. Unnerved, Lance straightened his back and planted his feet. He was a prince. His people may be all but extinct, but he was still a prince and he would not submit to just anyone. Especially anyone so obviously loyal to the betrayer Zarkon.

The larger of the two Galra, Sendak, stepped into the prince's cell and glared at Lance with one bionic eye and one mechanical eye. This was the first time Lance got a good look at the commander and he wasn't impressed so much as slightly disgusted. Sendak's proportions were off due to his mechanical left shoulder and arm. Purple energy buzzed between the metal shoulder and false arm. Sendak was a cyborg.

Lance had nothing against cyborgs. If you lost a limb and could or wanted to replace it with a mechanical one, then by all means. But in this case, the prince highly doubted Sendak had lost his arm so much as had it removed and replaced with technology. Why anyone would willingly do that was beyond Lance.

"Enjoying your quarters?" Sendak asked.

Lance narrowed his eyes, refusing to answer.

"I understand you were quite talkative to your keeper," Sendak continued, as if he never expected Lance to respond in the first place. "I'm not surprised a lower life form such as yourself would feel sympathy for a halfbreed."

Lance kept his eyes straight forward while Sendak approached him, circling him like a predator eyeing its prey. It caused the prince's hackles to rise and his skin to prickle. He could feel Sendak's eyes on him. The Galra standing in front of Lance hadn't moved except to cross his arms and observe. This was the first time Lance began to doubt his escape plan.

"Perhaps you could talk to me," Sendak offered. "I have a few questions which I would very much like to be answered."

Lance stayed quiet and unmoving.

"The Emperor has requested you be brought to him alive and unharmed," the commander continued. "However, he said nothing about existing injuries."

Lance tensed, instinctively flinching away from the metallic gleam in the corner of his left eye. Had his right eye not been swollen shut, he probably would have seen the attack coming easily, but he didn't. Cold metal clamped down on his swollen eye and pressed. Lance grunted and ducked away from the pressure. He turned to stare at Sendak and in doing so lost sight of the other Galra.

That was his mistake. Before Lance could react, arms looped under his own and lifted up to rest by his shoulders effectively rendering both of his arms useless. He struggled to get out of the hold like he'd been taught as a child, but the metal was back on his wounded eye and pressing hard. He bit his lip to prevent himself from crying out in pain.

"Talk, and the pain will ease," Commander Sendak said casually. "Be silent and I'll start to enjoy myself." The yellow toothed grin Lance saw with his one good eye was something he never wanted to see.

He would not submit.

"From what I've been told, you made a space jump from the Yellow Lion to the surface of Khonsu before your capture," Sendak said. "Why? What were you doing there in the first place?"

Lance said nothing. The pressure increased bringing with it a new spark of pain.

"You must have had a reason to be there," Sendak said. "Tell me."

Lance remained silent and the pain increased. His lip began to bleed from the force of holding back his voice.

"Is a Lion there?" Sendak asked. "Our scans turned up nothing." His golden eye hardened. "Or perhaps not a Lion but the Castle of Lions?"

Lance said nothing but whimpered when the pressure on his eyes increased.

"Tell me why you were there," Sendak demanded, beginning to lose his temper. "What were you looking for?"

Tears began to form in the prince's eye and a sob broke through his lips, but he said nothing.

"Your yellow paladin left you behind," the commander said, trying a new method. "Clearly you don't mean as much to your own people as you think you do. I remember the Sentinel title from history. Wasn't the Sentinel's job to protect the chosen heir by any means necessary? Even at the cost of their own life?"

"I believe it was," the Galra holding Lance captive answered in a conversational tone.

"Then you were never intended to survive," Sendak said, returning his dispassionate gaze to the Altean prince. "You were meant to die for another. In essence, you were born to die."

Lance tried his hardest to remain impassive, but the words stung.

"The emperor mentioned a princess," Sendak said. "Your sister, I presume? She was the chosen heir wasn't she? You were supposed to die for her. But it didn't work out that way, did it?" Sendak smiled. "Tell me shapeshifter, did she die before or after you woke up from whatever kept you alive all this time?"

Lance glared at the Galra and growled. Sendak's smile grew to a smug grin and Lance knew he'd lost a battle.

"You killed her, didn't you?" the commander asked. "You wanted to live so badly that you murdered your own sister to ensure your own survival."

 _No. He's baiting you. Say nothing._

"Such an action is admirable in a Galra," Sendak said. "Are you sure you're fighting for the right side?"

Lance knew he shouldn't say anything. He shouldn't give any sort of reply at all. But he couldn't help it. He didn't regret it either.

He spit in Sendak's face, feeling warm satisfaction settle in his belly when he saw the Galra commander's stunned expression as saliva dripped down his glowing red mechanical eye. Then the expression morphed into fury.

"You pointy-eared bastard," Sendak snarled and clamped his mechanical hand around Lance's throat.

The prince gasped and struggled to catch his breath as the metal fingers closed tighter and tighter around his neck until he couldn't breathe at all. The Galra holding him from behind released him and Lance's hands immediately flew to the metallic hand currently choking him to death. His flesh and blood fingers scrabbled against the metal, trying to find a grip to pull the mechanical fingers away from his vulnerable throat. Breathe. He needed to breathe.

Suddenly, Lance's feet were no longer on the ground and his body was literally hanging from Sendak's grasp. The Altean's legs twitched and kicked, his toes brushing the floor just enough to tantalize him. He couldn't breathe. His chest hurt. His lungs burned. His body felt hot then cold then heavy as he ran out of oxygen in his system. The sight in his one good eye began to tunnel. He was dying, he realized with a cold finality. His blood roared in his ears drowning out whatever the Galra were saying. His hands slipped, falling limply by his side as his sight went black

He had the brief sensation of falling, then felt his body slam into something cold and hard. It took a minute for him to comprehend the fact he wasn't dead. He was breathing, coughing, desperately trying to get enough oxygen to satisfy his deprived system. He was alive and he was on the floor of his cell.

Alone.

He suddenly wasn't bored anymore. He didn't want to be noticed. He didn't want something to happen. He just wanted to lie here and come to terms with the fact that he was alive. He was alive.

He was alive.

He sobbed.

Why?

Why was he alive? Why had his father thrown him into a cryopod? Coran would have been the better choice. Lance was a fighter pilot and master marksman. He would have been useful to King Alfor and Altea during the Great War. Why did the king toss him into that pod? He didn't even ask Lance for his opinion on the subject. Lance had no ties to the Lions or the Castle except for his title as Sentinel.

But even that was a title more focused on his sister, Allura. Allura had been chosen as the heir of Altea and Lance was chosen to be her Sentinel. It was his job to watch and warn for danger and, if necessary, give his life to save hers. He never doubted his place. Sentinel was a title to be proud of. So why wasn't he proud? Why was he so scared? Why had no one ever taken his flirting seriously?

Because they knew he would die.

He didn't want to die. He wanted to live.

He was so alone.

He wanted to live, but not alone.

Allura. He had to get back to his sister. He had a duty to her. He had to live for her. He loved her.

He loved her. But he also hated her. She could never know. Lance hated himself for his own thoughts, even as he wept on the cell floor alone and cold on a Galra battlecruiser in the middle who-knows-where space.

* * *

When Keithek returned to the Altean prisoner's cell, he was momentarily caught off guard. Lance was nowhere to be seen. He almost panicked, until he noticed fluffy brown hair poking up from behind the cot in the far corner of the cell. Curious, Keithek walked carefully into the cell until he could see Lance clearly.

The Altean was curled in the corner between the cell walls and the cot with his legs folded up to his chest. His arms wrapped around his legs, holding them firmly in place, and his head was bowed hiding his face from sight. His brown hair was beginning to look a bit limp and the prisoner was probably in dire need of a shower, but otherwise he looked alright.

So why did this whole situation feel off? Normally, Keithek would come in to see the Altean lounging on the ground like a carefree idiot with a smile on his face and flirtatious manner. But something about Lance's body language screamed 'Stay away!' louder than any voice could.

What had happened while Keithek was away? What did he miss?

"What happened?" he asked pitching his voice low. It just seemed wrong to speak loudly in this place right now.

Lance was silent.

Now Keithek began to worry. He had never seen the Altean be silent before. There was always a steady stream of words, whether they made sense or not, flowing from Lance's mouth. But now there was silence. It was disconcerting.

Keithek paused. Why was he feeling concern for a prisoner? He hardly knew the Altean. Lance was just an assignment. And yet Keithek found himself calling the Altean prisoner by name. Lance was a challenge that Keithek welcomed. It was a challenge that meant no harm. Quite the opposite in fact. It was attractive. It appealed to Keithek's alpha instincts in a way nothing or no one else ever had before.

But seeing Lance like this, submissive and closed off, made the halfbreed uncomfortable.

"Who made you submit?" Keithek demanded, fighting back the annoyance he felt at the very idea of the Altean submitting to someone else. When Lance still said nothing, Keithek bit back a growl. He dropped to a crouch and stared directly at the Altean's head, waiting for Lance's face to lift. "Who was it? Who did you submit to?"

"I didn't submit!" Lance snapped, finally lifting his head to glare directly into Keithek's unusual eyes. His voice was a little more hoarse than Keithek remembered it to be. "Unlike _some people_ ," Lance said derisively, "I don't submit to just anyone."

"What're you implying?" Keithek hissed.

"How quickly did you go to Sendak with what I told you?" the Altean demanded, ignoring the halfbreed's question. "Did you go to him immediately or did you wait until you got bored before letting him take over?"

Keithek glared, trying to piece together the situation. "What are you talking about? I haven't spoken to the Commander since your capture."

"Oh yeah?" Lance purred angrily. "Did he promise you a promotion if you got me to talk? Was that why you were friendly with me? Because I was a means to an end?"

"What the jurt are you- The Commander has no interest in me. Why would he?" Keithek rolled his eyes. "I'm a halfbreed. As far as he's concerned, the only reason I'm on this ship in the first place is because I'm a damn good pilot and there aren't any Druids on board."

That seemed to catch Lance's attention. "No Druids?" he repeated.

Keithek furrowed his brows. "No, none," he confirmed. His eyes focused on the still dark bruise blossoming around the Altean's right eye. "Otherwise, they would've healed your eye already. The Emperor wants you unharmed."

Lance snorted a humorless laugh. "A little late for that," he said with a snarky quirk of his eyebrows. "I'm supposed to be alive too." He huffed. "I wonder how long that will last?"

"What do you mean?" Keithek asked, not liking the Altean's tone.

Lance chuckled darkly. "You might want to crawl back to your commander's lap and let him know that he can suck my dick if he thinks I'll submit to him," he said. "Quiznack him. He deserves it."

"The Commander," Keithek murmured, his gaze zeroing in on Lance's face. "He tortured you?" Keithek's violet eyes skittered across the prisoner's face and what he could see of Lance's skin for any new marks. "Did he make you submit?"

"As if I'd submit to a fanatical crazy man like him," Lance said with a scoff. He tilted his head to the side so his gaze could linger on the closed cell door. Unfortunately, this gave the halfbreed a better view of his neck. It may still be shadowed, but Keithek noticed the marks beginning to appear there.

Without asking for permission, Keithek took hold of Lance's chin in a firm grip and tilted the Altean's chin back so he could see Lance's bare neck. The sight was not a good one. Fresh bruises in the vague shape of a hand print as well as indentations from some sort of mechanical device encircled Lance's throat. They were faint for the moment, but they would grow darker over time.

Keithek felt the same growl build up in the back of his throat. He jerked Lance's face close to his so their eyes were directly in front of each other. "I don't care what they do to you," he said suddenly. "You will not submit to them. Do you understand me?"

"Wha-" Lance gasped. "You can't tell me what to do."

"Do _not_ submit to them," Keithek said, tightening his grip on Lance's chin.

Something changed in the Altean's expression, a sparkle returned to his one good eye. "Oh?" he asked, a smirk tugging the corners of his mouth. "And why not? You don't control me. You never will." Keithek growled audibly but it only served to broaden Lance's smirk. "I submit to who I want, when I want."

"Do _not_ submit to them," Keithek commanded.

"What's the magic word?" Lance asked in a sing-song voice.

Keithek hesitated, his eyes narrowing in confusion. "Words are magic?"

Lance sighed and rolled his eye. "I guess that's a bit above your grade right now," he said, earning him a glare. "We'll work on it." The smirk was back full force, this time accompanied by Lance willingly lifting his chin so Keithek could access his vulnerable neck. "Right now, I have a question."

"What makes you think I'll answer?" Keithek countered.

"You just did."

That…was true. Keithek pouted and Lance's smile just grew wider.

"Fine," the halfbreed conceded, trying not to look at the willingly offered neck. "What do you want?"

"Help me get out of here."

Keithek blinked, then laughed in disbelief. "What?" He studied Lance's face closely in growing comprehension. "You're serious," he murmured.

"Very," Lance said. "Come with me."

 _That_ gave Keithek pause.

"You're not beneath anyone," Lance said. "You're my equal."

"You're a prisoner," Keithek said firmly.

"Not for much longer," Lance said seriously. "You don't have full command over me. You never will. _No one_ ever will, honestly. But once Sendak takes me to Zarkon, he'll hand me over and you'll never see me again." Lance took Keithek's hand, startling the halfbreed. "Let's get out of here. Just you and me. We'll be free of this. We'll fight Zarkon."

"You won't win."

Lance gave Keithek a sly grin that did things to the halfbreed he wasn't sure he disliked. "Are you so sure?" Lance asked, his words dangling a tidbit of information in front of the halfbreed's face.

"We're about to go into a slipstream," Keithek said. "It won't work."

"Again," Lance said, leaning closer, "are you so sure?"

Keithek did not give way, not even when the Altean unfolded himself and leaned forward so he was very much in Keithek's personal space. "You say you're a good pilot," Lance said. "I think I'm better."

Keithek glared. "Is that a challenge?"

"Only one way to find out, Keith."

Jurt, the way the Altean said that truncated form of his name was just sinful. Lance knew exactly what he was doing. Keithek _knew_ Lance knew what he was doing, but the halfbreed was still falling for it. It was a trap, and not necessarily a bad one.

"Show me," Lance said. "Impress me or I won't believe you."

Keithek snarled. "Don't tempt me," he warned.

Lance leaned closer so his lips were a hairs breadth away from Keithek's and breathed on them. "Didn't you know?" he teased softly. He ran his tongue along his lower lip, knowing exactly how distracting it was to the halfbreed. "I'm a bad influence."

Keithek gulped. "We wouldn't make it," he said, trying to come up with a counter argument.

"It's a better chance than staying here," Lance said, reaching up with his left hand to trace a nail down Keithek's light purple cheek. "Of course," he added, "I understand if you're too afraid to-"


	9. 9: Heat of the Moment

**A/N:** Remember when I said Team Voltron would make an appearance this chapter? Yeah, I lied. It's all klance. Sorry not sorry. I'll edit this tomorrow after I work and finish he homework that's due Thursday that I haven't started on and have no idea how to do. "Smeg" is a curse word from the British TV show _Red Dwarf_ and "frell" is a curse word from the scifi series _Farscape_.

 **FYI:** _Aganju_ is the Orisha god of fire, volcanoes, and the desert from Yoruba mythology. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which things happen in the heat of the moment during an ill-fated escape attempt. **  
**

* * *

 **9: Heat of the Moment**

He really should have expected the move. Well, that's not necessarily true. He _had_ expected the move; he just hadn't expected it to be so freaking fast. One second he was all but breathing into Keith's mouth, the next he was thrown back against the cold, metal wall and held there by Keith's clawed hands gripping his shirt collar.

"I'm not scared!" Keith hissed, his violet eyes boring into the Altean.

Lance preened under the attention. He tilted his head and gave his best sultry grin. "Really?" he drawled, his lone eye flickering up and down Keith's body. The Galra uniform may have put him on edge, but quiznack, it made Keith's body look good. "Prove it. Escape with me. Fight Zarkon with me. No one will look down on you. We can do this." He winked, although it looked more like an exaggerated blink.

Keith was hesitating, his head shaking side-to-side slowly as he attempted to process what was going on. "Zarkon controls most of the known universe," he said. "He'll find us and kill us."

"Then what do we have to lose?" Lance said. "Die now or die later. We're both mortal. We'll die anyway with or without Zarkon. I choose to die free without Zarkon. What do you choose?"

Keith sat back, his eyes wide in surprise. Lance said nothing. This was something only Keith could decide. Lance wouldn't make the decision for him.

"I…" Keith gave a shaky sigh and swallowed, his eyes staring fixedly into Lance's. "I want to be free," he said softly.

The smile he offered Keith in response was gentle and encouraging. "Then let's get the quiznack out of here."

Keith nodded and stood up, offering his hand to help Lance to his feet after a moment of thought. "The escape pods are several floors down," he said quickly, as if afraid he would change his mind if he stopped to think things through.

"Then we'll go there. Lead the way, Keith," Lance said with a flirtatious smile gesturing to the cell door.

Lance watched Keith struggle with himself before his eyes became steely and he went straight to the cell door panel and activated it. The metal door slid open only to reveal four drones. For a moment, Lance felt real fear course through him. He stepped back as his stomach dropped. Had… Had Keith betrayed him?

Before he even had the chance to consider hardening himself and leaping forward to attack, Keith had pounced on the nearest drone, ripping one of its arms off and flinging it into another nearby drone. It was impressive.

Feeling hope surge back into his heart, Lance grinned and joined Keith in taking down the drones. He went in low, executing a spinning kick connecting at the back of the knee joint of a drone knocking it off balance. As the drone fell, Lance dove forward and snatched the drone's weapon. He counted his blessings. It was a plasma gun. Now the tables had turned.

He fired his first shot at the fallen drone before spinning on the balls of his feet, remaining low to the ground to minimize himself as a target. He blasted a second drone, then finished off the other two Keith had originally taken out. Next he took aim down one end of the hallway then the other end searching for any signs their scuffle had been heard. After a few ticks, when no one showed up, Lance stood and lowered his newly acquired weapon flashing Keith a grin.

"Now this is more like it," he said.

"Those drones were mine," Keith said in frustration.

Lance shrugged. "Should've been faster," he teased. He popped his eyebrows up and down. "Let's go."

Keith glared at Lance, his lips barely revealing his teeth, before shaking his head. "Idiot," he muttered. "Get them inside," he ordered pointing back to the cell. "If someone finds them, they'll sound the alarm."

"Oh." Lance blushed and rubbed his neck with an awkward smile. "Nice call."

Keith shook his head and bent down to start dragging a drone back into the cell. Lance took hold of another drone and together he and Keith piled the drones into the cell before Keith closed the door.

"Nice muscles there, Keith," Lance said.

"Whatever," Keith grumbled, grabbing Lance's arm and dragging him down the hallway towards what the Altean hoped were the escape pods.

Lance had no idea what a modern Galra battlecruiser looked like on the outside nor had any idea of its modern internal schematics. He made a mental note to find and memorize those soon after he escaped this place. Hopefully, Keith could give some insight into that endeavor.

In the meantime, Lance trusted Keith to guide him through the hallways. There were several close calls with flesh and blood Galra, but most of the personnel on board appeared to be drones. The drones were easy targets. Thankfully, Keith seemed to know all the nooks and crannies to hide in to avoid the Galra. It made Lance wonder how often Keith had to use these hidey-holes to avoid bad situations in the past. Considering how many there were, it left the prince with a nagging feeling that there had been quite a few bad situations.

They were having good luck avoiding detection so far. Naturally, that was when things began to go wrong. They passed another door that looked strikingly similar to Lance's former prison cell, except Lance was willing to bet this one was much less comfortable than his had been. There were probably prisoners in there; innocents who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Lance remembered the Great War with intense clarity. He knew what happened to prisoners back then. It wasn't pretty. He would bet prisoners' fates these days were just as bad if not worse.

"Wait," he said, stopping by the door.

"What are you doing?" Keith demanded. "We can't stay here. Come on."

Lance neatly avoided Keith's attempt to drag him further down the hallway. "Is there anyone in there?" he asked, pointing to the cell door.

"Yes," Keith said, as if the answer was obvious. "They're probably being ferried to the nearest trade post to be sold."

"Slavery?" Lance breathed, horrified by the idea. "That was outlawed years ago."

Keith gave the Altean and odd look. "How long were you out?" he asked. "Slavery has been legal longer than I've been alive."

"Do you agree with it?"

Keith stood straighter and schooled his expression to impassivity. "Why?"

"Yes or no?" Lance asked in a curt voice.

"No," the halfbreed answered after a moment. His ears twitched, falling back against his head. "But there's only so much I can do."

Lance nodded. "This is one of them," he said. "Help me."

"Help you?"

"Open the door," Lance said.

"Wha- No," Keith said, shocked by the suggestion.

"I'm not leaving without them," Lance said simply.

"We don't have time for this," Keith said, glancing over his shoulder impatiently. "It's only a matter of time before someone goes to check your cell or look for me and find one or both of us missing. The last place I want to be when that happens is on this ship. I made the decision to help you. Don't make me regret it."

"You want to help me?" Lance asked.

"Yes."

"Then free them."

Keith glared and bit his lip, forcing himself to take a deep breath in through his nose and out through his mouth. "Fine," he bit out. "But if we get caught, I'll kill you myself."

"I'll kill you, if that's what you want," Lance said.

Keith's eyes widened, the violet irises dark against the yellow. He nodded slowly. "I'd prefer that to what they'd do to me actually," he admitted slowly.

Lance hefted his gun so he could watch for any unwelcome guests while Keith approached the cell door and activated the panel. The cell door lifted revealing a pitch black room lit only by the light from the hallway streaming in through the opening. Lance looked at the captive aliens in the cell in sympathy. There were at least ten prisoners total all of different species.

"This was your idea," Keith said, snapping Lance's attention back to him. "Get them to come out. If they aren't out in ten ticks, I'm closing this door and we're leaving without them."

Lance grimaced but walked into the cell. "My name is Lance," he said to the prisoners. "This is Keith."

"Keith _ek_ ," Keith mumbled. Lance ignored him.

"We're getting off this ship," Lance continued. "If you want, you can come with us."

"You're Galra," one of the aliens said. It had four arms, each with four fingers and its skin was gray and amphibious in nature. Thin, darker gray hair hung around its face in lank strands. An unusual, bulbous extension grew from its head like a blow hole.

It was subtle, but Lance noticed Keith's flinch. "He's a halfbreed actually," Lance offered, ignoring the burning glare Keith shot him. "I'm Altean."

"Altean?" the alien gasped. "Impossible. Your species was wiped out."

Lance gave a pained smile. "Interesting how impossible things are actually possible."

"Is it true then?" the alien asked, hoping kindling in its eyes. "The legend?"

Lance's smile fell. "What legend?" he asked carefully.

"The legend of the Defender?" the alien pressed.

Lance cleared his throat. "Look, we don't have much time so let's go."

"Is it true?" the alien pressed, desperately.

The Altean winced, feeling Keith's gaze on him like fire. He sighed. Might as well admit it. It wouldn't be a secret for much longer no matter what happened anyway. "It is," he said. "I'm the Blue Lion's paladin."

"Lion?" Keith murmured.

"Are you coming with us?" Lance asked the alien.

"We'd never make it," the alien said, shaking its head.

"We will," Lance disagreed with a determined gleam in his eyes. "I promise."

"Look, make a decision already," Keith commanded. He tensed and growled at something over Lance's shoulder, fingering his knife. "They found us."

Lance whirled around and raised his gun up to take aim and fire at the Galra foot soldier racing towards them. Unfortunately, distance shots were harder to make accurately due to his still swollen right eye. Close shots weren't too bad but the farther away the target, the less accurate his shots became due to his lack of depth perception. His shot went wild and he let out a colorful curse that had Keith lifting his eyebrows, impressed.

There was a small stroke of luck. Lance may have botched the shot, but the soldier still dodged to the side. Keith used the opportunity to throw his knife, striking the soldier in the face. In was a remarkable throw.

"Nice skills you have there," Lance said, flashing Keith a smirk as the soldier fell dead to the floor. "You have any other skills involving good aim?"

"I'm a good shot and can fly through tight spaces," Keith answered mildly, pulling his knife out from the dead soldier's face and wiping off the blood.

"I bet you're excellent with tight spaces," Lance said, smirking.

Keith hesitated, watching the Altean suspiciously. He was clearly missing something but he had no idea what. He lifted an eyebrow when Lance knelt and began to remove the Galra's armor.

"What are you doing?" he asked in confusion.

"Blending in."

Before Keith's eyes, Lance's skin morphed into a light purple, his shoulders became a bit broader, and he grew another inch or so. The Altean wasted no time pulling on the fallen soldier's armor, fitting the helmet on last.

"What do you think?" he asked, twirling around and striking a goofy pose.

Keith blinked. "You have blood on your chest plate," he said flatly.

Lance visibly wilted. "Whatever," he groaned. "Everyone's a critic. So," he called over Keith's shoulder, "You all coming or not?"

Keith turned back to the prison cell to see the aliens gathered out in the hall watching the two of them with mixed expressions of awe, confusion, and suspicion. They didn't have time for this.

"Look," Keith snapped. "Come if you are or stay if you want. But we're leaving now." He grabbed hold of the Altean's wrist and practically dragged Lance along beside him.

"Ooh, forceful," Lance said in a sing-song voice. "I like it."

"I'll be more forceful if you don't move your smeg, idiot," he grumbled.

"Smeg?" Lance repeated, feeling the word out with his voice. "I'm not sure I know what that means."

Keith flushed and rolled his eyes.

"I believe it's the Galra word for the part of the anatomy that excretes waste," the alien from the cell offered, catching up to Lance and Keith.

Lance snickered. "So my butt?" he joked. "Aw, Keith. You noticed my butt? Or should I say smeg? Is it a nice smeg?"

"Just kill me now," Keith grumbled. He glanced back to see all of the alien prisoners had elected to follow them. "Why did I think this was a good idea?"

"You didn't think," Lance replied.

"What?" Keith snapped, baring his teeth at the Altean who shrugged off his threatening move with a chuckle.

"You acted in instinct," Lance continued. "It's a very base thing. You should be commended."

Keith could swear he saw Lance eye him through the dead soldier's visor and couldn't stop the resulting blush from coloring his cheeks.

"We'll need more than one escape pod for this group," he said, hoping to distract the Altean. "We can't fit this many in one pod. We'll need at least two."

"We can do it," Lance said, never losing his enthusiasm. "Just lead us there, Keith."

Keith rolled his shoulders and stalked forwards, doing his best to ignore the things that happened to his body whenever Lance said his truncated name. It was a couple more minutes of sneaking around before they finally made it to a row of escape pods. He moved to get in the first one when Lance stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"The prisoners first," he said.

"What? Are you crazy?" Keith cried.

"Get in," Lance ordered the aliens.

Keith pulled Lance aside and whispered fiercely, "Are you insane? If we don't leave right now, we could get caught in the slipstream when the ship makes the jump."

"We're not leaving until they do," Lance said calmly but firmly.

Keith hissed and gripped Lance's currently purple chin and yanked the temporarily taller Altean down to his level. "I didn't come this far just to get caught."

"You won't be," Lance said sincerely. "I promise."

"Thank you."

Startled by the unexpected voice, both Lance and Keith turned to the speaker. It was the alien from the prisoner cell. The alien smiled and waved.

"I will spread the word of your return Blue paladin," the alien said. "News of the Defender shall spread. You have our gratitude and support."

Lance felt his shoulders slump as if a heavy weight had suddenly settled on them. Nevertheless, he nodded in silent acknowledgement. The alien pressed a button inside the pod which caused the door to slid shut and the pod was ejected.

"Our turn," Keith said, hurrying towards another escape pod.

He never made it.

A sharp jolt shook the whole battlecruiser tossing anything or anyone not prepared for it to the ground. Galra personnel would have received a warning, but apparently prisoners and halfbreeds weren't important enough to receive the warning. That was the only reason Lance could come up with to explain how he and Keith had ended up on the opposite side of the hallway in a groaning mess of limbs.

"I take that back," Keith said, slumping against the wall. "We won't be getting out in an escape pod at all."

"What the quiznack was that?" Lance groaned rubbing his head. He would have a bump there despite the helmet's so-called protection.

"We just entered a slipstream," Keith said morosely.

Lance tensed. It was too dangerous to leave a ship while in slipstream. They could be lost in some unknown area of space, or inside a star, or ripped apart by the forced bending space and time to create the warp bubble in the first place. No matter what, it was almost a guaranteed death sentence.

"Quiznack," he whispered.

"We should've just left them behind," Keith muttered. "You and your bleeding heart."

"Hey, this bleeding heart is going to get us out of here alive," Lance said sitting up abruptly.

"Oh yeah?" Keith said sarcastically. "And how do you plan on doing that, you quiznack?"

Lance sat up all the way. "Did you just curse me?" he asked, stunned.

Keith threw his hands up in the air. "We're stuck on this frell forsaken ship with no way out and you're worried about me cursing you out? Quiznack you."

"Love to," Lance answered promptly. "Later."

Keith jolted as if electrocuted. "What?" He did not squeak that.

Thankfully, his not-squeak was drowned out by the sounding of a ship-wide alarm. Alright, so that wasn't a good thing.

"They figured out we escaped," Lance said, staring up at the ceiling where the alarm speakers were located.

"No, really? Are you sure?" Keith snarked.

"What about the main hanger?" Lance asked urgently. "A larger ship might break through the slipstream."

"And end up in a star?" Keith exclaimed. "No way. I'm not that crazy."

"Quiznack," Lance cried in frustration. "I'm not giving up. Not now. I'm too close." He stood and began making his way back down the hallway the way they came. "I'm going to get out of here, get the Blue Lion, and get back home."

"We can't leave," Keith insisted, getting to his feet. He didn't move from his place however.

"I'm not giving up until I'm dead," Lance called back. "I will _not_ give up. I will not submit myself to that."

"Then what will you submit to?" Keith couldn't help but yell over the alarms at Lance's retreating back.

The Altean paused. This had gotten serious fast. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. This wasn't how he was supposed to die. He couldn't leave Keith here. He had to get Keith out at least. He'd promised that much.

"This Lion that alien mentioned," Keith said, suddenly much closer to Lance. He spoke softly, but it was still audible over the blaring alarms. "Do they come in colors other than Yellow and Blue?"

Lance glanced at Keith with his one good eye suspiciously. "Yes. Why?"

"Is red one of them?" Keith asked.

Lance stiffened. "How do you know that?"

Keith took a deep breath, coming to a decision. "This way," he said, snatching Lance's wrist and dragging him down the hallway the opposite direction Lance had been going.

Lance was getting a little miffed about the whole yanking around thing. He tolerated it for now because this could involve the missing Red Lion. That was the only reason why he didn't demand an explanation from Keith. He just kept pace and shot down anyone who crossed their path. His shots still weren't as accurate as he preferred but they did the job.

When Keith stopped, it was so sudden that Lance slammed into the halfbreed's back. Keith ran his hand over a panel on the wall and a large door slid open. On the other side was a huge hanger with a very familiar Red Lion sitting serenely within a red, hexagonal-patterned particle barrier.

"The Red Lion," Lance murmured. "How-?"

"Don't ask me," Keith said, hurrying inside and closing the door behind them. "It's been here for a week or so. We found on the volcanic planet Aganju and brought it aboard. The Commander's been obsessed with it. Or he was until he found you."

Lance didn't reply. He just placed his hand on the barrier, not surprised when it remained in place. Allura had chosen him to be the Blue Lion's paladin, not the Red Lion's. At least he knew where the Red Lion was now.

"Can you get the shield down?" Keith asked.

Lance turned to Keith and shook his head. "No," he said reluctantly. "Only the Red paladin can."

"Okay, so who's that?"

Lance's shoulders drooped and he turned back to the dormant Red Lion. "No idea."

Any hope Keith had vanished.

Then the doors burst open and bolts of purple plasma blasted the Red Lion's particle barrier, narrowly missing Lance and Keith. They both took cover behind a control panel mounted on a pedestal near the center of the hanger. Lance did his best to fire at the oncoming drones, but there were simply too many of them and his aim was still maddeningly off.

"Quiznack," he cursed angrily.

Keith felt useless without a weapon of his own. He only had his knife and he couldn't afford to throw it. If he did, then he'd be completely weaponless. This was hardly a fair fight. He refused to be captured. He refused to be forced to submit to Sendak or Haxus or any other purist Galra. And, though he was loath to admit it, he didn't like the thought of the Altean idiot submitting to them either.

He looked at the darkening marks around Lance's neck and felt a rush of something that was simultaneously thrilling and electrifying. "Do you trust me?" he said suddenly.

"What?" Lance called back, still firing at the enemy that was getting too close for comfort.

"Do you trust me?" Keith said louder.

Lance paused, ducking behind the pedestal to look at Keith directly. "Yes," he said after a moment.

"Then hold on," Keith commanded, holding out his hand.

Lance didn't think about it. He grabbed hold of the offered hand. Keith gave what could have been a smile, then slapped his hand on a large button on the pedestal. Instantly, the air rushed passed them with the force of a gale. Keith gripped the pedestal for dear life as the unprepared drones were sucked out of the now open hanger bay doors into the abyss of the slipstream. Unfortunately, the vacuum of space was also sucking Lance towards it.

Lance may have screamed, Keith certainly did, but neither could hear the other over the roaring winds. Keith risked freeing one finger to poke at the button but he couldn't muster up enough strength to press it. It was then that the weight of what he'd done crashed into him, filling him with horror. He had condemned both himself and Lance to death.

Something black and metal smashed into the pedestal right where Keith's hand was with enough force to break his fingers. Screaming in agony, Keith instinctively let go and flew out into space. Lance flew up beside him screaming and reached for him with his free hand.

Then the terrible silence of space deafened them. They couldn't breathe. They were going to suffocate or hit the edge of the slipstream and be ripped apart. Well, if they were going to die, then what was there to regret?

Keith pulled Lance towards him and in the silence of space, instants from slamming into the slipstream, he bit the Altean's neck hard and held on. They would die together.

Something huge and red flashed across his blurring vision, then an instant later they hit something with enough force to end everything.


	10. 10: Balmy Discourse

**A/N:** Ok, so I went on a rampage and wrote this chapter and the next one literally in one sitting. I got to my favorite hangout, the Rook Pawn board game cafe, and chilled here from 5:30-9:30pm and just wrote this. I honestly thought it would all fit into one chapter, but when I realized it was breaching 4,000 words, I decided to cut this chapter in two. It ended up being over almost 8,000 words total. Wow. I'll post the next chapter (the second half of this) tomorrow afternoon/evening. Gotta keep y'all on the edge of your seats somehow, right? ^_~ **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Team Voltron prepare for the Galra's arrival, Keith has trouble coming to terms with...stuff, and Lance is oblivious. For the moment. **  
**

* * *

 **10: Balmy Discourse**

"Paladins!" the princess's voice yelled over the two Lions' communicators. "Return to the Castle immediately!"

"What? Why?" Pidge said, sitting up in his pilot's seat.

"Yeah," Hunk said. "We haven't found either Lance or the Blue Lion."

"I doubt we could actually," Pidge said slowly.

"Paladins," Allura called again.

"We're coming princess," Shiro answered, leaning over Pidge's shoulder. "We're almost to the wormhole. Are you alright?" he asked urgently. "Did something happen?"

"Our long range sensors have detected a Galra ship nearby," she began.

"What?" Hunk gasped, immediately switching on his own long range sensors. "Here?"

"No," Allura replied. "It's enroute to Arus."

"Um," Hunk hesitated. "Where is Arus?"

"The Castle!" Coran cried. "They coming to the Castle."

Shiro stiffened. "Not good," he muttered. "We're on our way. Coran, what's the Galra's ETA?"

"'ETA?'" the advisor repeated in confusion.

"Estimated Time of Arrival," Pidge clarified, fiddling with the controls of his Green Lion.

"Oh, well based on my calculations," Coran said, "I'd say they should arrive here in approximately two cycles. Granted, this is based on knowledge from 10,000 years ago, but it should hold. I hope."

"That's not very reassuring," Hunk said once he passed through the wormhole.

"Yes well, thing about finger counting," Coran said, sounding a bit flustered, "it's more of an art than a science."

"You do realize finger counting is just counting, right?" Pidge said in a flat voice.

Shiro chuckled. "We're here princess," he said. "We'll head to the bridge as soon as we land."

The wormhole closed behind them and the Lions made their way to their respective hangers. When they disembarked, Shiro was again struck by that odd pull he first felt when Princess Allura first assigned him to the Black Lion. What if the pull was the Black Lion locked away in the Castle somewhere?

He froze, eyes wide. Was that what he was feeling? Was the Black Lion at the other end of this pull? If he followed it, would he find the Black Lion? He may not be able to free it, but could he see it?

A soulful longing swept over him like a tsunami, stunning him with its power and almost knocking him off his feet. He could almost hear an answer in the flood. There were no words or images, just the faintest of impressions like a flash of something in the distance bright enough to catch his attention but too quick and far to make sense of it. He wanted to find the source. He wanted to find the Black Lion.

"…ro…"

"Shiro!"

He jolted at the shout, whirling around to see Pidge perched on Hunk's shoulders so he was even with Shiro's ear. His mouth was still open from screaming Shiro's name. Shiro flushed and smiled awkwardly.

"Sorry 'bout that," he said, stepping back and rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously. He blinked when he actually noticed how tall Pidge was. A quick glance down brought a goofy smile to his face. "How's the weather up here?" he teased.

Pidge's concerned gaze instantly darkened behind his glasses. He hunched over Hunk's head and glared at Shiro. "Ha ha, very funny," he said.

"Hey," Shiro said with a shrug, "welcome to my world."

Pidge opened his mouth to say something then nodded. "Okay, right, yeah."

Hunk laughed, shaking Pidge with every twitch of his shoulders. "Nice one Shiro," he said, holding up a hand to give the older man a high five.

Shiro's smile softened as he returned the high five and together they made their way up to the bridge.

"You felt the pull, didn't you?" Hunk said when they all stepped into the elevator and rode it up to the upper floors.

Shiro glanced at the yellow paladin in cautious curiosity.

"Don't worry about it," Hunk said with a friendly smile. "We get it. That's how I found the Yellow Lion back on Earth, remember?"

"Yeah," Pidge agreed. "That's how I figured out the Green Lion was hidden in that old ruin. Remember? The giant sloth-"

"Stadig," Shiro offered, fully expecting to be ignored.

"-kept paddling past it to the larger ruins further down the river," Pidge continued, talking over Shiro. "It's like a _need_. I _needed_ to go there. It felt like something was calling me."

"In the cave back on Earth," Hunk said, "I felt like I would cry if I didn't go into the cave right then. When I started flying the Yellow Lion-"

"Barfing," Pidge coughed loudly.

"I will drop you," Hunk said flatly.

"No you wouldn't," Pidge said with a smug grin. "You love me too much."

Hunk groaned and slumped in defeat. "Yeah, you're right."

Shiro chuckled and shook his head as they stepped out of the elevator and into the hallway. "Pidge," he said, patting the shortest paladin's back in a friendly manner, "let Hunk finish."

Pidge slumped and puffed his cheeks out in a sulk. "Yes dad," he grumbled.

"As I was saying," Hunk said, "When I started flying the Yellow Lion, it was like everything was right. Like I'd found something I didn't even know was missing. It was amazing."

"When you weren't barfing," Pidge muttered just loud enough to hear.

"Pidge," Shiro warned with a mild glare, the amusement still evident in his expression.

"Whatever," Pidge groaned.

"Paladins," Allura said, turning from the panel she had been standing by to face them. Here lovely eyes sparkled with worry. "I'm glad you're here."

"How can we help?" Shiro said, striding across the floor with Hunk hurrying after, Pidge bouncing on his shoulders.

"We need to prepare the Castle for an attack," Allura said. "Anything you can do to help would be greatly appreciated."

"I'm good with computers," Pidge said, raising his hand. "I'd have to familiarize myself with your tech, but I'm sure I can't at least boost the power and stuff."

"I can help with that," Hunk added. "We can work on fixing my Lion later too."

"Good idea," Allura said with an encouraging smile.

Shiro felt a faint blush in his cheeks as he shifted awkwardly. "If you need anything moved or manual labor, I can help with that," he said shyly.

"Oh good," Coran chirped, flouncing over to the group and snagging Shiro's hand. "I could use a hand with the weapons check."

"But I don't have any-"

"Bah, you have muscles," Coran said, pinching Shiro's flesh left arm, "and some extra strength here," he flicked Shiro's metal arm, wincing and rubbing his sore finger afterwards. "I could use that strength with the heavy lifting while I check the relays and command crystals."

"Oh, um, alright." A smile began to form on Shiro's face as he was affected by Coran's enthusiasm. "I can do that."

"Pidge, Hunk, you two can stay with me," Allura said. "I'm going to attempt to activate the particle barrier and the Castle's defenses. If something malfunctions, we'll troubleshoot the problems while we have the chance. We need to be ready to defend ourselves by the time the Galra get here."

Both Pidge and Hunk gave the princess two thumbs up. "We got this princess," Pidge said smiling proudly.

"You can count on us," Hunk added.

A high pitched squeak trilled from the princess's shoulder and Hunk's smile slipped. "Please tell me I don't have to work with the mice," he said.

"They're actually very useful," Allura said, petting the tiny blue mouse on her shoulder with a proud smile. "They can reach places we can't. They've already helped me rewire the deep space scanners which allowed us to detect the Galra in the first place."

"Really?" Pidge asked, adjust his glasses and studying the mouse with interest. "Cool."

"Oh boy," Hunk sighed.

* * *

His first thought was of motion. He was moving. Then his mind began functioning and he realized he was _feeling_ motion. The only way to feel motion was if he was alive.

He was alive.

His eyes flew open and he flailed in shock, crumbling back to the ground when he couldn't catch himself in time. He was moving. He was alive. He was _breathing!_

He pushed himself back up from the ground only to freeze when his left hand landed on something that gave beneath him. Blinking in the dim red-tinted light, he bit back his apprehension and looked down at whatever his hand had landed on.

It was a body. But not just any body. It was Lance's body. The Altean was still wearing the stolen Galra armor and his skin was still a light purple, but Keithek just knew it was Lance. He hesitantly reached out and removed the helmet covering Lance's face, wincing when he saw the still swollen eye. Lance's chest was moving in slow, shallow breaths. But just to reassure himself, Keithek pressed two fingers to the Altean's neck, breathing a heavy sigh of relief when he felt the fluttering pulse just under the skin. He pulled his fingers back and paled when he noticed the dark, viscous substance coating his skin. It was darker than his usual skin tone and gleamed red in the reddish light of whatever room they were in.

Blood. Lance was bleeding.

Fighting back the panic clawing at the edges of his muddled mind, Keithek scrambled to remove the metal chest plate from the Altean's disconcertingly limp body and undo the two top buttons of Lance's shirt revealing his neck. There, on the left side of the Altean's slender, vulnerable neck was a bite mark that Keithek instinctively knew was his. But… When…?

A flash of darkness and silence suddenly blinded him. He could see Lance flailing uselessly in the vacuum of space, his body a stark contrast to the dark battlecruiser and the brilliant, convoluted strands of the slipstream. They were going to die.

He didn't want to die.

Not alone.

He'd yanked the Altean close to him as the pain from his oxygen deprived lungs began to burn and the saliva in his mouth began to boil. Lance wrapped his free arm around him, desperately seeking something to hold, to anchor them, to stop their inevitable tumble to death and Keithek buried his teeth in the expanse of exposed neck right by his mouth.

He'd bitten Lance.

Jurt, he'd _bitten_ Lance.

He vaguely knew he was hyperventilating and shuddering. His heart pounded painfully against his rib cage and his limbs and face tingled. What had he done? _Why_ had he done it? He'd been so certain they were going to die. They _were_ going to die. They should be dead. So why were they alive? How were they alive? Why did he mark Lance?

His panicked thoughts screeched to an abrupt halt when a deep, rumbling purr drowned out all sound, filling him with soothing calm. Emotions that were definitely not his own flowed into his mind, covering every synapse with a warm, comforting blanket of red-tinted silk. The purr never stopped, vibrating his panic until it fractured and fell away. His breathing eased to slow, deep breathes that appeased his deprived lungs. His heart beat slowed too until Keithek was vaguely aware it was still beating. His shaking stopped and the tingling faded, replaced by an almost euphoric calm.

He only broke himself out of the mesmerized state when he felt his eyelids drooping shut and his body slumping to the floor. He caught himself right before he landed on Lance's unconscious body. Keithek came back to himself stunned but calm. He let out a heavy sigh and pushed himself back up. Lance needed medical attention. If he did wake up, which Keithek sincerely hoped he would, then the last place Keithek wanted to be was hovering over Lance's body like an obsessed mate.

Even though he had technically mated Lance already.

His face burned the moment that thought crossed his mind. He should be ashamed of himself. He'd mated Lance without asking permission. They'd only known each other for a day or so, and that had been in a prisoner-keeper relationship which wasn't the best kind for getting to know one another and courting. Even though Lance had shameless flirted with him.

What if Lance rejected him? It would be completely understandable, but something in Keithek's subconscious knew he probably wouldn't be able to handle it. Lance wasn't a Galra; he was Altean. Keithek wasn't familiar with Altean physiology, but he doubted Alteans had the same connection to their mates as the Galra. If Lance rejected Keithek as a mate, it probably wouldn't affect him. But it would definitely affect Keithek.

The Galra only ever took one mate in their lifetimes. If one mate rejected the other, then the situation would fall apart very quickly. Rejected omegas tended to lose their fertility, rejected betas tended to lose their energy, and rejected alphas tended to lash out at anything any everything. But no matter what status the rejected Galra held, death was the inevitable result whether it was by suicide or throwing themselves into work or some method of distraction and simply allowing themselves to waste away.

Keithek didn't want to die. Maybe his diluted blood would lessen the emotional, mental, and physical impacts of the rejection. Maybe he could recover and find another mate, if any Galra would take him.

He was a fool. Something hot and wet slid down his cheek leaving behind a tickling, wet trail. He brushed his fingers against the wetness and stared at it, his mind trying to come to terms with everything. He was crying.

The soothing purr returned, but this time it didn't completely calm him. It did serve to distract him and draw his attention elsewhere. He breathed in deeply through his nose, willing his tears away and looked around the room he found himself in. It was relatively small and dark. The only light source was from the room beyond and tinted red.

He couldn't make out more because his view was blocked by a chair. Curious, Keithek stood and made his unsteady way to the chair, placing a hand on the back as he leaned around it to get a better look at the lit room. It was a cockpit, he realized. The whole front of the cockpit was a view screen currently showing the familiar black and twinkling points of distant stars. Two other view screens, one on either side of the cockpit, showed a star chart with various signals moving about and an endless rush of letters in a language Keithek didn't recognize.

"Woah," he breathed, stepping further into the cockpit.

He gave a startled cry that was embarrassingly high pitched when something crashed into him from behind forcing him to fall into a cushioned surface. He turned his head and recognized the chair he'd walked around. It was on a rail that allowed it to move back and forth easily between the cockpit and the back room where Lance still lay blessedly unconscious. Keithek may not have known the Altean too well, be he doubted he would have escaped the humiliation of his little scream without some sort of teasing.

The purr returned, this time with impressions, images, thoughts that weren't words so much as they _became_ words when they filtered through his head. The Lion. The Lion was purring, speaking to him. It was sentient and it wanted Keithek to pilot it. Well, if it was sentient, then it probably knew what it was doing.

"Please don't let me regret this," Keithek mumbled under his breath as he wrapped his hands around the control handles.

He knew what to do. It was as if the instructions had been placed directly into his head. Maybe they had been, he though. The Lion was sentient after all. There was the impression of laughter and Keith flushed. The Lion was laughing at him. What even?

Shaking his head, he pushed the controls forwards and felt the Lion ship move forward and ease into a right turn. Something was flashing on the screen to his left, silently demanding his attention. He glanced at it and, although he couldn't read the foreign letters, he got the feeling the Lion wanted to go there.

"Ok," he said. "Let's go there."

He glanced back over his shoulder to be sure Lance was still there, then completed a full turn and flew towards whatever signal the Lion wanted him to go to. Maybe it was a space station or something that had medical services. He doubted it.

It wasn't a space station. It was actually the same gas giant the Galra had been orbiting when this whole mess started, Tefnut.

"I don't get it," Keithek murmured. "Why did you want to come back here?"

There was a groan behind him and the halfbreed flinched. Jurt, now things were going to get interesting.

"What the quizack?" Lance grumbled.

Keithek didn't look back, but he cold heard the soft thumps of the Altean rolling around back there. Lance was probably trying to get up and not doing too well.

"Ow," Lance whined. "My neck hurts."

Keithek did _not_ blush. He did _not_.

"Wait."

And now the realization.

"Holy frak!"

Keithek blushed. Who knew a member of a formerly extinct species had such, erm, colorful vocabulary?

"I'm not dead! What the- Where- How- Oh Lions, _please_ tell me I didn't hallucinate that whole thing. That would seriously quiznack everything up."

"You didn't hallucinate it," Keithek said over the rumble of the Lion's engine. He didn't look over his shoulder either. If he did, he'd see his Mark on Lance and that would just… No. Just no.

"Keith?" Lance called. "Where are… The Lion. We're- Are we in the Red Lion?!" Lance cried, scampering up into the cockpit until he stood next to Keithek staring out at the main view screen, struck dumb by the sight.

"Yeah," Keithek said, giving his Altean companion a quick glance. "Not sure how, but yeah."

Lance gave Keithek a cursed glance, then did a rather comedic double-take. "Wait. You're _flying_ the Red Lion?"

Keithek winced, his sensitive ears flicking and folding back against his head. "I can hear perfectly fine at a normal volume," he snapped. "And yes, I am flying it. You're welcome."

When Lance didn't say anything for a full minute, Keithek twitched and gave an explosive sigh. "Ugh, _what?_ "

For the first time since Lance had woken up, Keithek looked directly at the Altean. Lance's lone dark blue eye was wide with shock and his mouth was hanging open. His entire body was tense and it was beginning to grate on Keithek's nerves.

When Lance didn't reply to Keithek's question, the halfbreed grumbled, "Look, if you don't like it, get ove- GAH! WHAT IN THE- _GET OFF ME YOU IDIOT!_ "

"The Altean ignored his please and frantic struggles, naturally. In fact, Keithek was ready to bet Lance actually squeezed him tighter to more he demanded to be set free.

"You're a _paladin!_ " Lance yelled loud enough for Keithek to pin his ears against his head again. "HA! I am a frakin' genius! I not only found the Red Lion but I found its paladin too!" He cackled madly. "Take _that_ Allura!"

"Lance, if you don't let me go right this second, I will eject you, I swear!" Keithek hissed.

Instead of letting him go, Lance simply crouched down on the floor by Keithek's right, his arms still loosely clinging to the halfbreed, and smiled brilliantly. "You don't understand Keith," he said. His face glowed with excitement. "We can defeat Zarkon now. We have a _chance_ now. We can do this. We can actually _do this._ "

"What the jurt are you talking about?" Keithek said, totally thrown by the Altean's words. "Look, I can dream about defeating Zarkon. Frell, I can even talk about it," he said, returning his focus to Tefnut growing ever larger in his view screen outside. His entire demeanor slumped. "But it can't happen," he said softly. "Zarkon is a cruel bastard. He's powerful, he's got the backing of the Druids, he controls most of the universal trade routes, his spies are literally everywhere…" He shook his head. "Not to mention he controls just about the whole known universe."

"I know."

Keithek turned back to Lance. The Altean's face was solemn, almost sad.

"Believe me, I know," Lance said with such heavy sincerity that Keithek began to wonder what kind of business Lance was involved in that Zarkon wanted him alive and unharmed so badly. "I know better than most, I think," Lance continued, his eye clouding with memory.

It was Lance who broke their eye contact this time, turning to look out the main view screen. He nodded to the view. "Get me to Khonsu," he said. "If I can get the Blue Lion, then I'll take us to where the others are and we can start fighting back."

"Others?" Keithek asked. "There are others?"

Lance smiled, and Keithek felt the strange sensation of something he rarely knew these days. Hope.

"Oh yeah," Lance said. "Put it this way: have you ever heard of Voltron?"

Keithek scrunched his nose. "It's an Altean tale." At Lance's odd look, Keithek shrugged. "An Altean tale," he reiterated. When Lance still looked mildly confused, Keithek rolled his eyes. "Geez, you're an Altean. How could you not know what… Oh." He flushed in understanding. Fortunately, Lance still looked mildly confused.

"I'm not really sure what you mean by 'Altean tale,'" Lance said slowly. "I get the feeling there's more to that phrase than I'm aware of, but anyway. You _have_ heard of Voltron though, right?"

"Yes," Keithek said, nodding as he flew the Red Lion towards Khonsu in Tefnut's rings.

"It's real."

" _WHAT?!_ " Keithek cried, pulling up the Red Lion abruptly, tossing an unsecured Lance back into the room behind him.

The Altean groaned. "Ow. Some warning next time, fluffy ears."

"Did you just insult me?" Keithek growled incredulously.

Lance sighed noisily. "I tell you Voltron is real and you're worried that I insulted your very fluffy, very cute, twitchy ears. Priorities, Keith. Priorities." Lance waggled his finger at Keithek mockingly.

"Says the pointy-eared Altean with purple skin who believes in myths," Keith shot back, returning his attention to piloting the Lion.

"Bite me," Lance said snidely.

"Already did."

"...What?"

Frakin' frell.


	11. 11: Burning Sensation

**A/N:** And now, the second part. Feels in this chapter, but don't worry. There is some klance in this too to balance it all out. Hope y'all are ready for this rollercoaster. I sure wasn't when I wrote it, but I love it. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which the Keith gets distracted and almost kills the refugees, Lance is distracted, Lance is distracted, Keith is distracted, a challenge is issued, the Blue Lion rises, and Lance is a lost cause. **  
**

* * *

 **11: Burning Sensation**

Thankfully, blessedly, a beeping sound accompanied by flashing lights tore Keithek attention to his burning hot face to the view screen on the right. His eyebrows flew up to his hairline and he pulled the Lion up short, just barely missing two small ships which whizzed past the Lion's gigantic front paws.

"Frak!" he yelled.

When the ships passed by, Keithek got a good look at them. It was the two escape pods from the Galra battlecruiser. He sighed. It's a small universe after all.

"It's the escape pods from the battlecruiser," he said aloud for the Altean's benefit. "Did you program them to head for Khonsu?"

No response. Keithek bit his tongue. He was really hoping the Altean's uncharacteristic silence wasn't a bad thing. He licked his suddenly lips and put the Lion into a nose-dive towards the moon's oceanic surface.

"Look," he said, breaking the now very uncomfortable silence in the Lion's cockpit. "I'm sure where to start looking for the Blue Lion. A little direction would help."

Footsteps came up to his side and he fought down the urge to look at Lance, too terrified of what he would see on the Altean's open face. Were all Alteans like Lance? Did they all wear their emotions on their sleeves? It was so alien the Keithek. The Galra valued control in practically every aspect of life. If the Alteans acted as carefree as Lance was, it was no wonder the Galra had issues with them. They were complete and total opposites.

The silence continued until Keithek couldn't take it anymore. He turned to the Altean, mouth open, ready to snap at Lance and stilled. Lance was standing with his unswollen eye closed and his brow furrowed in concentration. He seemed to be in some sort of meditative state. It was unnerving to see.

Keithek eased his Lion out of the nose dive so he hovered in the air not far above the choppy waves. Everywhere he looked was water. Everything looked the same. He had no idea what he was looking for and as far as he could tell, there weren't any signals to track either. Except for the escape pods which were currently falling through the atmosphere several klicks to the left.

Movement to his right caught the halfbreed's attention and he turned to see Lance, eye still closed and brow still furrowed, pointing to the right. He didn't say a word, just pointed. His head tilted slightly to the side as if listening to something only he could hear. Keithek remember the purr from his Lion and wondered if maybe Lance _was_ hearing something only he could hear.

The Red Lion purred in the halfbreed's mind in agreement. That seemed like the best confirmation he was going to get, so Keithek took the controls and guided his Lion across the ocean's surface in the direction Lance was pointing. A gentle pressure on his shoulder alerted Keithek to the fact Lance's hand was now resting there. The hand tightened and he looked over to see Lance's finger had moved to a little so it was pointed almost due straight.

From that moment onward, Keithek continued in whatever direction he was facing until he felt a change in the pressure of the Altean's hand on his shoulder. He would take note of the new heading and adjust his course accordingly. A few minutes into the flight and Lance's nails dug sharply into his shoulder painfully. Keithek stopped his Lion and looked back at Lance. The Altean's eye was open, but clouded over. He was seeing something, but whatever it was, it wasn't in the here and now.

"Open the door," Lance said, his voice soft and distant.

"What door?" Keithek asked, scanning his controls. "There's a door in here?"

That was stupid. Of course there was a door here. How else had they gotten into the Lion in the first place? But where was it? Keithek didn't remember seeing any doors in the cockpit or the room behind it. And where were the controls to open this mystery door?

He knew.

He pushed several buttons in a particular sequence the Lion provided and there was a sudden rush of air behind him. Startled, Keithek turned in his chair to see a hole in the floor in the back room. Light and the subtle roar of the ocean waves filtered in through the hole from outside. Lance said nothing. He just turned around and walked straight to the hole.

"Lance?" Keithek said.

The Altean didn't stop.

"Lance, wait." The halfbreed stood and grabbed Lance' shoulder, halting his movement. "What're you doing?"

Lance blinked back to himself and faced Keithek. The halfbreed tried to school his face to hide his concern and confusion but apparently he'd failed because Lance gave him a wane smile.

"It's down there," he whispered, his eye flicking down to the white caps below the hole.

"What is?" Keithek pressed. "The Blue Lion?"

Lance nodded. "I couldn't feel her last time," he said, a note of mild confusion in his voice. "But I can now. I need to go to her. I need to find her."

"You want me to wait up here?" Keithek asked.

Lance studied the halfbreed closely before turning to the view screens in the cockpit. "Go check on the refugees," he said. "I'll be back."

Keithek didn't move as he watched Lance step closer to the hole. "Is that an order?" he said softly, a note of warning in his voice.

Lance stilled. "Do you want it to be?" he asked without looking back.

Keithek seriously considered the question. "Maybe," he said. Lance faced him directly, confusion evident on his face. Keithek looked at the Mark on the Altean's neck significantly before meeting Lance's dark blue eye. He was interested to see the faint flush coloring Lance's purple skin. "I'm not going to apologize for it," Keithek said simply.

Lance pressed his lips together. Keithek watched in fascination as the Altean's body shifted. The purple faded to the dark tan Keithek secretly preferred.

"You didn't ask," Lance said after a moment. "I don't even-" He bit his lip and Keithek began to see the traces of fear and anger in the Altean's face. Lance looked away and ran his fingers over the Mark and up to his bruised eye self-consciously. "I don't even remember you doing it."

"Well, we were kind of flying through the slipstream after I depressurized the hanger bay," Keithek offered. "In my defense, I was 99.99 percent sure we were going to die." Lance gave a one-shouldered shrug in a non-verbal agreement to that statement. It gave Keithek enough courage to say what he wasn't sure he could have said otherwise. "I didn't want to die alone."

Lance dropped his gaze, clearly struggling with the whole thing. "I don't either," he admitted after a moment. His eye flickered up to Keithek's and away almost too fast to see. "I still wish you could've asked," he said.

"You can't really speak in the vacuum of space," Keithek said.

Lance shot him a look that spoke a thousand words. It was rather impressive how so many things could be piled into one, single look. Then the Altean huffed a laugh and the tension broke.

"At least I'm mated to a guy with cute, fluffy ears and very nice smeg," Lance said with a sly grin.

Keithek's face definitely turned bright red. He could only sputter in confusion as Lance leaned into his personal space and very deliberately tilted his head so his neck was revealed. Keithek swallowed over his very dry throat.

"I believe I said 'bite me' earlier," Lance said, a playful grin on his lips.

Keithek cursed the Altean. Lance knew exactly what he was doing. "And I believe I said, 'I already did,'" he replied, finding it difficult to tear his eyes away from the bruised neck of his mate.

For some reason, the sight of the blossoming bruises from Commander Sendak's mechanical hand around Lance's throat ignited a burning fury within him like nothing Keithek had ever felt before. It hit him in a burst of comprehension leaving him stunned. It was the alpha hormones. Jurt it all, Keithek had been quiznacked from the moment he met the Altean. One look at Lance's bright blue eye and he knew Lance knew it too.

They'd both played a careful game that ended with both of them winning. It was an unusual conundrum, but not necessarily an unwelcome one. If Lance was willing to press his luck and try this whole mating thing out, then Keithek might as well give it an effort as well. He had nothing to lose and everything to win, after all. What the frell not?

"You asked for it," he warned, before jerking the Altean flush against him and biting the Mate mark hard.

The faint whimper Lance let out had his body warming, his ears flicking forward in full alert, and sending a fire racing through his veins. He tightened his grip on Lance, placing one hand against the Altean's lower back to keep their bodies close and the weaving his other hand into Lance's short brown hair. He gripped the roots of the soft hair and tilted his mate's head further back for easier access.

His mate.

He purred and sucked the Mark, enjoying the way Lance sighed and shuddered against him. "Mine," he breathed against a dark, pointed ear. "You will submit to no one but me," he ordered softly. " _No one_ but me."

Lance breathed a shaky laugh. "You'll find I don't submit easily," he said. Keithek grinned when he heard the flutter in his mate's voice. "You'll have to make me."

Keithek growled and nipped the ear by his mouth eliciting a sharp yelp. "I can do that."

Satisfied he'd made his point, Keithek stepped back and ran his gaze over Lance's body with a new kind of interest. Lance's face was dark red and the Mark on his neck was much darker and more pronounced now. It would scar over leaving an unquestionable reminder that Lance was claimed.

Lance slapped a hand over his aching Mark when Keithek stared at it hungrily. His face was still red when his good eye narrowed and he grinned. "So can I," he said.

Keithek had a moment of confusion before he had an armful of Altean and felt a burning pain pierce his own neck. Quiznack, Lance was Marking _him_. That certainly did things to his alpha side that Keithek found he greatly enjoyed. When Lance finally let go, he didn't pull away immediately. He licked the bruise he'd made and straightened slightly. That fact Lance was slightly taller than him was a minor annoyance to Keithek, but not to the point that it he wanted this to stop.

Lance brushed his lips lightly up Keithek's neck, nuzzled the halfbreed's back hair, and bit the ear closest to him. Keithek yelped and hopped back, his hands clamped firmly over his sensitive ears and stared at Lance in shock.

Lance gave one of those ridiculous blink-wink-things and _changed_. His skin lightened to a sea green shade, thin webbing grew between his fingers, and gills folded out from the sides of his neck. The change was quick and Keithek was still trying to come to terms with the fact his mate had _bitten his_ ear and then _shapeshifted_ into an aquatic version of Lance that he almost missed the Altean's parting words.

"I dare you to make me submit, Keith," Lance said.

He waved innocently and then dove through the open hole into the ocean below before Keithek could answer the challenge and pounce on him. As it was, Keithek just managed to fall to his knees at the hole's edge and stare down at the splash where Lance broke the endless ocean's surface. He stared down at the place his mate disappeared to several ticks in silence before grinning.

"Always did love a good challenge," he purred, smiling darkly.

The Red Lion purred an agreement in his head as Keithek stood. He would do as Lance ordered and take care of the refugees. But he would be back in a tock and if Lance hadn't reappeared by then, then so help him Keithek would make him _wish_ he had.

* * *

He moved through the water easily in this form. It had taken a few ticks to get used to breathing through gills but he'd gotten the hang of it and was now gliding through the clear water towards the sea floor. He could feel the pressure grow the deeper he went. The color of the filtered light was greenish down here and rippled with the movement on the ocean's surface. It was enchanting, but Lance couldn't afford to be distracted.

The salt in the seawater burned his aching Mark, but instead of annoying him it made his blush return. Who would've thought. Quiznack what a day this had been. Had it really only been a day? Two days? Maybe? It felt like just two days ago the Great War had been raging against Zarkon and his Galra army and now he was looking for the Blue Lion and had a Galra halfbreed as a mate.

That would certainly take some getting used to. But if Keith kept acting as adorable to Lance's advances as he had in the Red Lion, then the Altean prince was looking forward to it. The Galra were known to be possessive of their mates. Lance loved to flirt. He wondered how Keith would take Lance flirting with others. He never really meant his flirtations to go anywhere. It was all a harmless game as far as he was concerned. But maybe, just maybe, Keith would react. Hopefully not in a bad way.

Who knows. Maybe it would end up in fantastic sex. Lance was down for that.

For now, though, he had to focus. He closed his eyes and felt for that pull in his mind and soul. It took a tick for him to feel it as strongly as he had before. It called him down, farther down. Deeper. Deeper.

He obediently followed the call until the pressure began to become uncomfortable and the light was a dim, murky green. Thankfully, the sea floor was just a bit farther, He could see it clearly now through the thin membrane covering his good eye, protecting it from the water. A stalagmite rose from the sea floor and Lance brushed his hand against it. Sketches carved into the stone Lance hadn't noticed at first due to the lack of light suddenly blazed a brilliant sky blue. Confronted by a bright light after his eye had grown accustomed to the darker atmosphere this deep underwater, Lance flinched back and shut it eye.

He eased it open and saw the glowing carving led down to an underwater cavern that glowed a lovely sapphire from inside. His heart pitter-pattered against his chest in excitement. This was it. He was almost to the Blue Lion.

He dove down, swimming as fast as he could through the water and into the cavern. Bubbles slipped from his mouth when it dropped open. There, protected by a blue particle barrier and sitting on a ring of glowing blue carvings, was the Blue Lion. _His_ Lion.

This was his chance. He could be a pilot again. He could be free in the sky. He could fly.

He swam right up to the barrier and pressed a webbed hand against it. The barrier rippled before vanishing in a flash of light. The Lion's eyes lit up a soft gold and it stood from the sea floor and opened its massive maw. Lance smiled and swam fearlessly into the Blue Lion's mouth. The mouth closed around him leaving him in total darkness except for the five, thin beams of blue light from the boarding ramp that would normally fold out from the Lion's mouth had he entered it from dry land.

The pressure changed and a rushing sound assaulted Lance's ears as the water level dropped. He popped his head above water the first chance he got and let his aquatic appearance fade back into his natural form. Once all the water had been drained from the room and he could breathe fresh air once more, a portal in the back of the Lion's mouth slid open revealing a hole through which he could climb up to the cockpit.

His first glimpse of the cockpit almost had him in tears. He was dripping wet, a little cold, and standing in the cockpit of the Blue Lion. Reacting to Lance's thought, the Blue Lion activated its heating system bring a chuckle to the Altean's lips.

"I can fly again," he whispered. A tear slipped down his cheek and he strode forward to sit gingerly in the pilot's seat. His hands felt the controls. He still wasn't one hundred percent sure he _wasn't_ hallucinating this whole thing. It just all seemed too fantastical to be true.

His shivered and a gentle presence flooded his mind. He bowed his head and sobbed. The Blue Lion purred and Lance wept. He wept for Altea. He wept for his father. He wept for Allura. He wept for his new mate. He wept for the paladins. He wept for himself.

Here, in this place deep under a faraway ocean, he could cry and scream and fall apart. The Blue Lion would never judge him or make him feel like he'd been born to die. Here he wasn't the Sentinel of the Castle of Lions. Here he wasn't Allura's brother. Here he wasn't Keith's mate. Here he wasn't a member of a formerly extinct now currently endangered species. Here, he was just Lance; a scared boy who had lost his parents, his home planet, his freedom to choose a mate… He'd lost all control of his life. Here, it was safe to cry.

But it couldn't last forever. Nothing ever did.

He sniffed and rubbed his running nose, immediately regretting it when the move irritated his sore right eye. He brushed his tears away and took a few ticks to regain a semblance of control of his emotions. Keith couldn't take care of all those refugees all by himself and the Galra were on their way to what Lance highly suspected was the Castle of Lions. They currently believed Allura was dead and he was the keeper of the Lions, but that wouldn't stay a secret for long if Allura inadvertently revealed herself. Lance had to protect her at all costs. She had to live in order for the Lions to function properly and Voltron to be formed. She had to live until she passed her power on to her heir, whoever that might be. Then that heir had to live until they passed their power on to another and so on and so forth.

And always, standing carefully in the shadows, would be a Sentinel to watch, guard, and protect the heir with their everything. That was Lance's job now. He would not fail.

He gripped the Blue Lion's controls feeling the giant beast guide him through the motions to rise through the water and into the crystal clear sky. His Lion roared loudly when it broke the water's surface and swerved to the right towards the place the refugees' escape pods landed and presumable where Keith was in the Red Lion.

Unable to resist, Lance activated his communicator and said, "Miss me Keith?"

Keith's startled expression appeared on the left view screen and Lance grinned at it, giving his mate a playful salute. Keith just lifted an eyebrow at him and rolled his eyes.

 _"Idiot,"_ the halfbreed grumbled.

Lance caught the half hidden smile and snickered. "How many refugees were you able to get?' he asked, changing the subject.

Keith glanced over his shoulder in the view screen and looked around before turning back to Lance. _"I was able to fit about five of them in here,"_ he said. His nose wrinkled. _"They stink_."

Lance let out a choked laugh. "Well, I probably smell like seawater so I guess we should avoid each other for now. Wouldn't want to offend your delicate sensibilities," he teased with a shrug. Yep, that was definitely a blush in Keith's cheeks. "I'll get the other five and we'll head back to the Castle of Lions," Lance said, smiling gleefully.

 _"You know where it is?"_ Keith asked in surprise.

Lance nodded, flying his Lion down to the floating escape pod that had the hatch open with aliens sticking their heads up out of it as the seawater sloshed in and around the vehicle. "We can't travel by wormhole but-"

 _"Wormhole?"_ Keith gasped.

"-but these Lions can go pretty fast," Lance continued. He commanded his Lion to open its mouth and lower the ramp for the remaining refugees to climb aboard. "Almost as fast as a Galra slipstream."

Keith looked positively stunned.

"A Galra slipstream is still technically faster simply because its generator is larger so it can produce more power, but we should make some decent headway," Lance said. "Just follow my lead and trust your Lion. It knows what to do."

Keith nodded, his eyes still wide from the news. Lance took a moment to glance behind him and count the number of aliens in the back room. It was a bit of a tight fit, but there looked to be five of them. "Is that all of you?" he asked the nearest alien. It nodded and Lance returned his attention to his control panel and Keith in his side view screen. Okay, let's get out of here."

 _"Lance_."

The Altean prince glanced at Keith's image as his Lion rocketed through Khonsu's atmosphere out into space with the Red Lion right next to him. Keith tapped two fingers against his neck and smirked.

 _"Mine,"_ he said simply and cut the video feed.

Lance said nothing, but he was sure his face said everything that was important.

.


	12. 12: Fierce Hope

**A/N:** No klance in this. It's all Team Voltron because they needed some attention. Also, plot required it. But don't worry, there's a hint of klance at the end. There's also the beginnings of shallura. But mostly this is Team Voltron with a highlight on Allura. But do not fear, klance will return in full force next chapter. I'm currently working on the next chapter so that should be up tomorrow. Oh yeah! **  
**

 **BTW:** In case anyone's curious, whenever I work on this fic, I'm listening to Ivan Torrent's album _Reverie_ on Youtube. I HIGHLY suggest y'all listen to it. Ivan Torrent is amazing.

 **IMPORTANT EDIT!:** I can't reply to my reviewers for some reason. I keep getting an "Invalid Message 3." So I'm replying to y'all's reviews here.

 _FrostIrony :_ Squeal all you want. There's more coming~

 _Triscribe :_ Yep. In fact, the awkward introductions begin in chapter 13. I've already written it so I know this for sure.

 _AirenLag :_ If you think Keith's possessive now, just you wait till Lance starts baiting him.

 _3:_ I'm glad you liked last chapter so much. Emotional complexity is my favorite thing to write, but it hurts when I'm the one reading it. It's an awkward situation to be in. ^^;

 **Chapter summary:** In which Team Voltron prepares for battle, Allura gets her chance to have feels, and hope appears on the Castle's scanners. **  
**

* * *

 **12: Fierce Hope**

Shiro was crouching down on the floor of what he thought was the main control center of the Castle. A huge, rough hewn, glowing blue crystal hung from the ceiling like an organic chandelier. It was beautiful and, according to Coran, served as the Castle's main power source.

"Just a bit more," Coran said slowly, working with what looked like tweezers. A thin green wire was pinched between the tweezers Coran held in one hand while his free hand wound the cords together and sealed them. It took a lot of concentration because one wrong move would mean an unpleasant shot. Fortunately, Coran had only experienced one shock since he began and that proved to be surprisingly useful. It had allowed him to find the faulty wire on the second try.

Shiro kept still, holding the heavy piece of machinery on his shoulder. For the first time in a long time, he was actually glad he had his Galra-made mechanical arm. Coran had not said a single word of disgust or given any indication that the mechanical arm bothered him. In fact, Coran had even complimented it and made use of it in a way that made Shiro feel useful and inclusive.

"Got it," Coran said proudly. "If you could slide that back into place now please."

"Sure thing," Shiro said, standing. His knees creaked a bit from holding that crouch for so long but otherwise he felt fine. He hefted the device back into its slot, sliding it along his shoulder until it clicked into place. "You need anything else?" he asked, half hoping there was more to do.

"Plenty," Coran said with a smile. "Always will, I think. But right now, I think we've earned ourselves a break, hm? Come on. To the kitchen we go."

Shiro's eyebrow flew up. "There's a kitchen here?"

He felt slightly dumb for asking that question. Of course there was a kitchen on board. This was a Castle after all. Where was the food prepared if there wasn't a kitchen? Without pondering that thought too deeply, Shiro fell into step next to the advisor and rolled his shoulders, pleased when he managed to get a few satisfying pops out.

Subsequently, he all but jumped out of his skin when a klaxon suddenly began blaring throughout the Castle. Shiro reacted instantly to the deafening sound, falling into a battle pose balancing on the balls of his feet expecting an attack.

 _"Paladins! Report to the bridge immediately. The Galra have arrived at Arus,"_ Allura's voice said over the speakers. She sounded anxious.

"What?" Coran gasped. "But that's not possible. I calculated the time it would take for them to get here myself."

"Everyone makes mistakes, Coran," Shiro said, placing his mechanical hand on the advisor's shoulder. "It's been 10,000 years after all. I would be surprised if the Galra hadn't found a way to increase their speed and engine power."

Coran's shoulders slumped and his face looked distraught. "Oh dear, why didn't I think of that?"

"Don't dwell on it right now," Shiro said. "Let's just get to the bridge and figure out what's going on."

Coran visibly shook himself. "Right. Too much to do, too little time to do it. Let's go." And he was off. For such a stick-thin guy, Coran could run.

Shiro arrived on the bridge a couple seconds after Coran and was promptly greeted by the familiar image of a Galra battlecruiser on the main view screen. It appeared to be slightly damaged, but not enough to be considered substantial. But something about those particular marks…

"Wait a second," he whispered. "Is that the same ship that chased us from Earth?" he asked louder.

Hunk, who was already on the bridge with Pidge, straightened and stared at the screen closely. "I-I don't think so?" he said, sounding unsure of himself.

"I think it is," Pidge said. He pointed to the scratched hull. "That was probably from where Hunk got a few hits in when we all first escaped Earth."

"But that can't be," Allura murmured, her eyes flickering down to the star chart on the large panel nearest her. "There's no way a Galra battlecruiser could get from Earth to Khonsu to Arus in two days."

"It got from Earth to Kerberos in a few minutes when it chased us in the Yellow Lion," Pidge said. He stuffed his hands in his pockets. "What're you basing your assumptions on anyway? If you're basing them on the information you remember from 10,000 years ago, then that's just stupid."

"While I wouldn't put it like that," Hunk said, holding his hands up in a placating manner, "I have to agree with Pidge here. Ten thousand years is a long time. It's hardly fair to assume the Galra haven't improved their technology during that time."

Allura visibly wilted. "Of course," she said, turning her gaze up to the battlecruiser. "I suppose that was foolish of me."

"No one's blaming anyone here," Shiro said quickly, stepping up to the princess's side. "We all make mistakes. No one's perfect." He offered Allura a reassuring smile which she returned. "Let focus on defending ourselves and fighting back against the Galra. That's our main priority right now. Got it?"

"Pidge and I can get to our Lions if you need us to," Hunk offered.

"That's a good idea, Hunk," Allura said, straightening her shoulders so she appeared every inch the princess she was. "You two go to your Lions," she ordered. "I'll contact you with further information when you get there. Be ready to launch on my mark. Shiro," she turned to the older paladin next to her and her face saddened in regret, "I think it'd be best if you stayed with me for now. Without the Blue and Red Lions, we can't free the Black Lion so there's nothing for you to pilot. I'm sorry."

Shiro smiled gently. "Don't worry. It's not your fault." He glared at the battlecruiser. "If anyone's to blame, it's them. Just tell me what to do and I'll do it."

The princess nodded. Then her eyes widened. "Wait. Hunk! Pidge! Wait a tick."

The yellow and green paladins paused just outside the bridge and looked back at the princess, ready for more orders.

"I have something to give all of you first," Allura said. "Coran, stay here and let me know if anything happens."

"As you wish, your highness," the advisor said with a salute.

Allura gathered up her skirt and hurried down the hallway. "This way paladins. Quickly."

The ragtag group hustled through several hallways before the princess came to a halt by an unassuming doorway. She waved her hand by the access panel and an unseen lock snicked free allowing the door to hiss open. Inside was a plain room that lit up when the princess and the paladins entered. The room's contents garnered gasps from the paladins who stood staring at the sight in shock.

"Are those…" Hunk whispered.

"Uniforms?" Pidge finished.

"I-I think they're armor," Shiro said, stepping into the room followed closely by Pidge and Hunk.

The far wall was lined with five tall, cylindrical tanks. The tanks lit up from the inside revealing their contents to the group. In each tank was a set of armor color coded for each paladin. A large, rectangular table stood in the center of the room. Its top was a translucent panel that glowed white from below. The princess walked right up to the table and placed her hand on the glowing surface. It split down the middle and slide open revealing four simple, hand-held devices that matched the colors of the paladins' armor.

"You're correct, Shiro. Those are indeed the paladins' armor," Allura said. "Each color corresponds to a Lion. Hunk, you get the yellow armor, Pidge, you get the green, and Shiro-"

"I get the black armor," Shiro said, placing his flesh hand on the tank. He pulled his hand back when the glass lifted allowing him access to the armor.

"Please put them on as quickly as you can," Allura said. She tried not to gaze at the blue paladin's armor hanging uselessly in its tank as she waited for the paladins present to fully suit up. Lance should be here for this. She needed to find him.

"Princess?"

Startled from her thoughts, Allura blinked and saw her paladins all dressed in their armor. She shook herself and dropper her gaze to the devices on the table.

"These are your bayards," she said. "Again, their color is coordinated with their corresponding Lion and paladin." Two devices rose up from the table and floated to their respective paladins when she keyed in the code. The blue and red bayards remained disconcertingly still. Allura bit her lip and focused on instructing her paladins. "Each bayard takes a unique form for its user," she said. "The form is usually something its paladin's will find particularly useful."

Hunk took hold of his bayard first. He gave a grunt of surprise when the small device changed its form to a huge cannon in a flash. He hefted the cannon, finding it lighter than he expected it to be and grinned. "Nice."

Inspired, Pidge grabbed his bayard and watched it flash into a 'V' shaped, glowing green blade that buzzed with electricity. "A taser blade," he said, smirking. "I can slash _and_ electrocute. Oh yeah."

Shiro smiled at his companions' reactions to their bayards before looking back at the princess, waiting for his bayard. Allura's amused smile faded when she noticed Shiro's attention on her. Her whole demeanor drooped. "I'm sorry, Shiro," she said regretfully. "The black bayard was lost with its paladin in the Great War."

That stung, but it wasn't Allura's fault. Things happened during war. Shiro nodded and smiled. "I guess I'll just have to make due," he said with a shrug. "It wouldn't be the first time."

The princess winced but nodded. "I'm sorry," she said again. "I'm going to change into my own armor and get ready for the attack. I'll meet all of you back at the bridge in a few ticks."

The group nodded and Allura rushed out, presumably to find her own armored suit.

"Is it just me," Pidge mused aloud, "or are any of you getting a serious Power Rangers vibe thing going on?"

"Oh yeah, totally am," Hunk said.

Shiro sighed. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

Allura hurried down the hall to what was once her room. Technically, it was still her room but she hadn't entered it since she'd woken from her 10,000 year long slumber in the cryopod. She didn't want to sleep. There was a lingering doubt that what she was experiencing wasn't real, even though a part of her wanted it to be. She wanted to wake up and find herself back on Altea at a juniberry festival with her father and siblings. At the same time, she wanted to stay here. It was confusing and convoluted and this was no time to be pondering such things. She arrived at her door, waved her hand over the access panel, and walked through the door to her chambers.

"Princess."

Pausing, Allura turned to see Coran running towards her. Instantly, she feared the worst.

"What is it?" she demanded. "What's happened? Have the Galra attacked?"

"No, no, they're still in orbit," Coran said quickly. "I set the auto-alert system to sound the alarm if they begin to enter the atmosphere."

"You got the auto-alert system to work?" Allura said in surprise.

"With Shiro's help, yes," her advisor said with a proud smile. "It was the last system we completed before you called everyone to the bridge. With that arm of his, we were able to fix a lot of problems that would have required a drone to help with back then." He chuckled, then his smile faded as the implications of what he just said set in. He sighed sadly. "But that's neither here nor there. Princess," he said, meeting her eyes seriously. "There's something I think you need to see."

Intrigued, Allura nodded. "Of course," she said. "Just let me get changed into my flight suit and-"

"Erm, I think you might want to see this first," Coran said gently.

Allura's eyebrows furrowed in confusion but she nodded in acquiescence. "Very well."

Coran was oddly silent as he guided the princess down a hall towards the bridge than branched off into a side room. When Allura recognized their destination, she became even more confused.

"Coran, I don't understand," she said. "Why are you taking me to the holodeck? What-"

Her words trailed away when the low pedestal in the center of the room began to glow. It grew upwards before taking a form she would recognize anywhere. She covered her mouth with her hands as tears of love and shock pooling in her eyes overflowed down her cheeks. Her breath stuttered and her heart ached.

"Father," she whispered.

The hologram of King Alfor smiled tenderly at her and she sobbed.

"Father!" she cried. Her body moved of its own accord. She threw herself at the hologram, forgetting holograms had no solidity. When her body actually made contact with something semi-solid, she wept.

"Allura, my precious daughter," her father murmured, running a semi-solid hand through her hair. "I'm so, so sorry I left you behind."

Coran quietly wiped a tear from his eye and made a discrete exit, not wanting to disturb this family reunion. He would have to show this to Lance when the young prince returned. He wished he'd done this as soon as he'd found the king's memory core program during his sweep of the Castle's main systems. With one last look over his shoulder, he left the room, taking care to close the door behind him. He would get the princess's flight suit and leave it inside the door for her to change into when she was good and ready.

Allura meanwhile clung to her father's image like a little lost child. "Father," she said, her voice broken and shaking. "Why did you leave? Why did you have me put in the cryopod? Why didn't you join us? Why didn't you let me stay with you?"

Alfor's tender gaze saddened and he knelt so his daughter could sprawl across the floor and still cling to him. At his will, the room glowed. A tick later, he and his daughter were surrounded by the juniberry field that used to be just beyond the boundaries of the capital city of Altea. Allura's breath caught as she turned her head in all directions, taking in the memorable sight.

"Please understand," Alfor began, "I never intended for this to happen." His daughter turned her gaze back to him and he pressed a fleeting kiss to her forehead. "I wanted you and Lance to live, even if I didn't make it. You two are my lasting living children. The last of my family. I couldn't bear the thought of losing the both of you too." He lifted his gaze and looked around curiously. "Where is Lance?" he asked. "I had hoped to see him as well."

Allura flinched and bowed her head. "He…" She sniffed. "Forgive me father," she whispered. "I failed. I sent him to find the Blue Lion, but the Galra were there. He ordered the Yellow Lion's paladin to escape before the Galra had the chance to capture it, and we haven't heard from him since."

Alfor's eyes widened in dawning horror. "No," he breathed. He shook his head. "Lance isn't gone," he declared firmly. "He can't be." He felt like he was attempting to convince himself of that more than his daughter. When he noticed Allura's shoulders begin to shake, he placed his hands on either side of her head and lifted her face so he could see her watery eyes. "Fear not," he said. "Lance is clever and stubborn and does not typically boast without reason."

Allura snorted in an unladylike manner, a smile twitching her lips. Alfor smiled in return. "I did say 'typically' did I not?" he teased. Allura nodded, wiping her tears away. She grimaced when she realized her nose had begun to run. She flushed when her father chuckled. "I'm sure he'll be back," Alfor said sincerely. "He never did stray far from your side."

Allura's smile softened. "He always followed me around like an imprinting benu bird," she said snickering. "He always wanted to be the center of attention. He used to tease me all the time and pull my hair."

Alfor laughed. "He was good with the younger ones though," he said fondly. "But you were always the leader. You could keep Lance under your thumb."

Allura pouted, sticking her lower lip out in a childish manner. "Not when he flirted," she grumbled. "Whenever I told him to stop, he'd flirt with me." She shuddered playfully and rolled her eyes. "He could never take anything seriously except flying."

"He was a great pilot." Alfor agreed. "He still is, I bet. Don't give up on him just yet. If there's one thing I'm sure of," he said with a wink, "it's that you should never underestimate Lance's ability to surprise."

Allura snickered. "I know that, believe me." She stared up at her father, glowing against the holographic Altean juniberry field and felt her heart swell. Her father may be gone from the physical world, but she still had his memory and now this in a memory core. She also had Lance, when that idiot brother of hers ever decided to show up, that is. "When I find him, I'll be sure to give him a piece of my mind," she said primly, tossing her long white hair over her shoulder.

Alfor threw his head back and laughed from his belly. "I'm sure you will," he said gaily. "Whether he'll listen to you or not remains to be seen, but I'm sure you'll give it your best."

Allura rolled her eyes. "I have to get back to the paladins," she said reluctantly. "The Green and Yellow Lions have been found and the Black Lion's paladin is here but we couldn't find Lance. When we went to look for him, we also looked for the Blue Lion and couldn't find it either. I'm not really surprised by that, but still… Father," she said slowly, "I can't find the Red Lion. Not anywhere."

The former king's eyes grew solemn. "We will hold out hope," he said at last. "With you alive and your new paladins by your side, I'm sure you'll find your brother and the Red and Blue Lions. Who knows, they may find you."

The princess nodded and stood. "There's a Galra battlecruiser in orbit around Arus," she declared. "We've been able to restore power to the Castle's particle barrier, but it's nowhere near full power and we won't be ready to leave Arus for a few more cycles at least." She squared her shoulders and took a deep breath to steady herself, dawning the air of the princess she was. "We're ready to defend the Castle," she said boldly. "The Lions will not fall into the Galra's hands." She narrowed her eyes. "I won't let it."

Alfor smiled proudly and stood as well. "That's my girl," he said. He lowered his chin in acknowledgement of his daughter's declaration. "Go with my blessing."

Allura smiled and waved. The last she saw of her long lost father was a return wave, then the holographic Altea vanished taking her father's memory core image with it. She took several ticks to gather herself before turning to leave. She stopped when she saw her flight suit resting on the floor by the door, neatly folded and ready for her. Another tear slipped down her face and she quickly brushed it away.

When she emerged from the holodeck, she was suited up and ready to fight. Her dress was folded where her flight suit had been. She'd retrieve it later, after all this mess had been taken care of. For now, she made her way to the Castle's bridge. It was time to make the Galra wish they'd never entered orbit around Arus.

When she stepped onto the bridge, her three remaining paladins were currently in a deep discussion with Coran. Pidge was holding something that looked like a small time keeping device and Coran was holding a ticker next to Pidge's device.

"Most interesting," Coran said, rubbing his fluffy mustache with interest. "It seems a tick is a bit longer than one of your seconds."

"Yeah," Hunk said, leaning over Pidge to get a better look at the two devices, "but your tecks are shorter than our minutes. And your tocks are longer than our hours."

"But they're close enough to not get too confused, I guess," Pidge said, pulling his device back and strapping it to his wrist.

"Honestly," Shiro said, a faint flush of color in his cheeks, "I'm more familiar with the tick, teck, tock thing than the seconds, minutes, hours thing due to my time with the Galra."

Pidge blushed awkwardly and scratched his head. "Sorry," he said. "Didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

"Don't worry, Pidge," Shiro said, mussing Pidge's hair affectionately. "I may not remember much about my time under their control, but if I let everything that reminded me of that time bother me then I'd be completely useless." He smiled, flashing his teeth. "Can't have that, now can we?"

"Yeah," Hunk said, pumping his fist in the air. "We have to eat first."

Pidge snickered and Shiro sighed. Coran looked simply enthused. "I think that's a wonderful idea Hunk," he said. "After we've defeated the Galra though. Consider it your reward."

Hunk hesitated, then grinned and pounded his fist in his open hand. "Anything that gets between me and food is my enemy," he said.

"Good thing," Coran said. "Defeat the Galra and I'll have a delicious and nutritious meal waiting for all of you."

"Oh heck yeah!" Hunk shouted, hopping excitedly.

"Ready to fight, I see," Allura said, stepping forward.

"Oh hey prince- Woah! You look awesome!" Hunk exclaimed.

"Yeah," Pidge agreed. "Nice suit."

The princess smiled. "Thank you. It's my old flight suit."

"You flew?" Shiro asked curiously.

"Oh yes," she said. "I used to fly with my brother all the time back on Altea. Lance was the better pilot, but we both loved to fly."

Shiro smiled and crossed his arms over his chest. "Good to know," he said. "Maybe we can all go flying together one day."

For some reason, that brought an unfamiliar warmth to Allura's cheeks. She cleared her throat and directed her gaze to Coran who was watching her with the same gentle gaze she remembered from her youth. She wrapped her arms around her advisor's neck, startling him.

"Thank you," she said. She tightened her hold, smiling when she felt Coran hug her back. "Thank you."

"Anytime princess," he said.

They parted and Allura took a deep breath. "Alright paladins," she said, stepping up to the pedestal in the center of the bridge. Two command towers rose from the floor, stopping at her waist. She placed her hands on the tops of the towers and a screen appeared in front of her. "Pidge, Hunk, head to you Lions. Be ready to launch on my mark. Shiro, stay here and help Coran. The Castle has defenses other than the particle barrier. With you and Coran manning them, I can control the particle barrier and keep an eye on the battlefield."

An alarm sounded and everyone looked up to the main view screen. The Galra battlecruiser was finally descending into Arus' atmosphere. Allura frowned, determined to win this.

"Be ready," she commanded.

"Yes ma'am," Shiro answered.

"We got this," Hunk said.

"Gotcha," Pidge shouted, running to the elevator with Hunk.

"Wait!" Coran shouted. "There's something else on the scanners."

Everyone paused and turned back to Coran who was bent over a panel studying the signals flashing on a gridded coordinate map of Arus' atmosphere and surrounding space.

"What is it?" Allura demanded.

"More Galra?" Shiro asked, leaning over Coran's shoulder. The signals were blue and red respectively.

"Oh god no," Hunk groaned.

"Ha!"

Shiro jerked back at Coran's exclamation and stared at the advisor in confused amusement as Coran began doing what Shiro could only liken to an overly enthusiastic version of the chicken dance.

"Uh, Coran?" Hunk called uncertainly. "Are you alright?"

"It's them!" Coran shouted gleefully, throwing his arms up in the air. "They're back?"

"Who?" Pidge asked, totally confused.

"Lance!"

"What?" Allura gasped, pulling up that quadrant of Arus' space on her three-dimensional map in front of her.

"Lance is the Blue Lion's paladin," Coran said. "And that," he said, pointing to the flashing blue signal on the map, "is the Blue Lion's signal. That means-"

"It's Lance," Allura said, an excited smile filling her face. "He made it." She gasped. "Coran, is that-"

"It is indeed, princess," Coran said, turning to the flashing red signal. "That is the Red Lion's signal. Lance found the Red Lion _and_ its paladin."

"That means we can free the Black Lion," Pidge gasped.

"We can form Voltron!" Allura said, her face glowing with joy. "Pidge, Hunk, get to your Lions and give the Red and Blue Lions cover. Do not let the Galra touch them."

"Yes ma'am," both paladins said with a salute.

Allura did not watch them go. She was too busy staring at the Blue and Red Lions' signal and trying not to cry from relief. Her brother was back. And somehow he'd found the missing Red Lion and its paladin. She looked forward to meeting the newest paladin. She sincerely hoped Lance hadn't let his recklessness and flirting be the first thing the newest paladin experienced. She couldn't wait to hear their story.


	13. 13: Blistering Contact

**A/N:** I wrote this as soon as I finished writing last chapter. I swear, _The_ _Rook and Pawn_ board game cafe is my inspiration place. Tea, calm, a deck for sitting outside, free wifi, a chill atmosphere... Aw yeah. I'll deit this one last time tomorrow morning once I've slept on it. Also, as of now I'm two chapters ahead of this one writing-wise. That's incredible for me. I've never written and hoarded to post later for _any_ of my stories before. I usually write a chapter and post it. This is new and cool. The power... So much power. I am corrupted and loving it.

 **FYI:** If anyone wants to know what music I use to inspire me while I write this story (I listened to it on loop while writing every chapter, no kidding), it's t=the album _Reverie_ by Ivan Torrent. You can listen to it on YouTube. In fact, I highly recommend it. It's amazing and inspiring music.

 **IMPORTANT!:** I still can't reply to reviews for some reason due to the annoying "Invalid Message 3" thing So I'm replying to y'all reviews here:

 _Fujhi poudes-Escapa non: _ Nice username, btw. I know right? Isn't the music gorgeous? Sorry, I'm a quick updater. Jk. I'm not sorry at all. XD You're kind of close on the intros to Keith and kind of off. The intros begin in this chapter and go into their full awkwardness next chapter.

 _3:_ Nope. She has no idea at all. D

 _phantomwofblue:_ Cool username! I love blue and I love wolves. ^_^ Hope this is what you were hoping for~

 **Chapter summary:** In which Lance and Keith play to the refugees' dismay, the Galra rudely interrupt Lance's flirting (for the better?), and the Black Lion is freed. **  
**

* * *

 **13: Blistering Contact**

 _"Admit it."_

"No."

 _"Admit it."_

"No."

" _You're a horrible liar."_

"I am not."

 _"Yes you are."_

"Quiznack you."

 _"Now you're just evading the question."_

"No!"

" _Then admit it."_

"It does _not_ bother me."

A snort. _"You really need some lying practice."_

"I'm fine."

No response.

"I swear."

Silence.

"Ugh, okay fine! It fraking _stinks_ in here."

 _"Called it."_

"You know what Keith? Frak you too."

Keith, the jerk, just sniggered at him. Lance tossed a brief glare at the Red Lion's paladin in his side view screen before returning his gaze to the front. His nose was wrinkling from the putrid smell of unwashed prisoners. No disrespect meant, but seriously. Gross. He'd have to give Blue a deep cleaning as soon as he got the chance. He'd turned the air circulation system on full blast hoping that would help dilute the smell. Instead, all that did was spread the smell throughout the entire place. Lance was trying very hard not to take deep breaths.

He vaguely wondered if Blue could smell this too. An uncomfortable rumble in his head was a sad affirmative. Blue could definitely smell it and she did not like it one bit. Poor girl. He sighed and pushed the controls as far as he could, urging Blue to go faster. The quicker they got back to the Castle, the quicker he could unload his smelly passengers and deep clean his Lion.

 _"How much further?"_ Keith asked.

Lance studied the star map on his right view screen for a few moments. "A few more tecks," he answered. He blinked and squinted at the map, "Frell," he muttered. "It looks like that Galra battlecruiser's there too."

 _"What?"_ Keith gasped, actually looking directly into his view screen at Lance. _"You're sure it's the same one?"_

"I'm almost positive, yes. That crazy commander Sendak detected something he said was similar to the Lion's signal when he first reported my capture to Zarkon," he explained. "I figured it was the Castle but I wasn't sure until now." He shook his head. "I sure hope Allura and Coran have gotten the particle barrier up and running. Otherwise they'll be sitting Stadigs on that planet."

 _"So speed up?"_

Lance nodded. "Yeah."

He realized what he'd just agreed to a tick too late and let out a cry of dismay when Keith's Red Lion blasted ahead of him. "You-! Not fair Keith."

 _"All's fair in war, Lance,"_ Keith replied with a teasing grin.

Lance glowered unhappily. "You may be faster, but that's just 'cause your Lion's built that way. Doesn't mean you're a better pilot than me," he shot back in frustration.

 _"Is that a challenge?"_

Lance grinned. "I don't know, is it?"

Keith met his gaze in the view screen. They both grinned and pushed their Lions to the limits. Lance wasn't as fast, but he bet he could out maneuver Keith. He dove his Lion down so it flew just below and behind the Red Lion and pressed several buttons in a sequence provided to him by his Lion. Blue was apparently enjoying this game and wanted to play too. Lance grinned and executed the command.

Blue opened her massive mouth, bit down on the Red Lion's tail, and tugged. Keith gave a startled cry, flailing with his controls. There were several other yelps filtering through the communication feed from Keith's side, probably from the hapless passengers aboard the Red Lion, but Lance ignored them. This was simply too much fun to stop. Blue roared in agreement as she soared ahead to first place of their little improvised race.

 _"You-! You'll pay for that, you stupid idiot!"_ Keith screamed, pushing his controls forwards.

Lance glanced at his map on the right and dodged to the left, neatly avoiding Keith's pounce towards Blue's tail. He rolled his Lion on her back and kicked Blue's back legs out, smacking Red in the face. Keith rocked in his pilot seat and growled, his ears fully erect and alert.

 _"Oh yeah?"_ he snarled. _"Take this!"_

He faked a dive and caught the Blue Lion by surprise with his Lion's jaw. Red clamped her jaws just hard enough to ensure a firm grip on the Blue Lion before tossing her to the side effectively throwing Lance through space. Lance managed to recover from the wild tumble laughing madly.

"This is what I'm _talking_ about," he crowed. "Bring it, fluffy ears."

"Please don't," came a weak plea from behind Lance. He ignored it.

He pushed his controls forward, dodging the Red Lion's attempt to snap at him, and circled around so his Lion hovered above Keith's. Then he stopped and primly nipped the Red Lion's metal ear.

"Got you," he teased and blasted away towards Arus and the Galra battlecruiser.

* * *

Keithek sat in the Red Lion, stunned by Lance's unexpected trick. Then he narrowed his eyes and gave chase. He could feel the alpha hormones screaming through his body. _Chase. Catch. Hunt. Capture. Claim._ It was intoxicating and sent his blood pounding through his veins. He laughed. He would catch Lance and show him who the alpha in their relationship was. He would make the Altean submit.

Lance had challenged him to do just that right before diving into the ocean of Khonsu and claiming the Blue Lion. Now he was issuing the same challenge.

* * *

 _"I dare you to make me submit, Keith."_

* * *

"I will," Keithek promised. "I swear I'll make you submit. I'll make you scream."

 _"Oh you will, will you?"_ Lance trilled through their open communication link. _"I doubt it. You haven't even been able to catch me. How could you possibly hope to make me submit if you can't even catch me, fluffy ears?"_

"Alright. That's it," Keithek roared.

He entered a command his Lion suggested and pushed his controls as far forward as they could go. The Red Lion lurched forward, barreling directly at the Blue Lion.

 _"Keith?"_

Keithek ignored him, continuing to encourage the Red Lion forward. He could feel his Lion's anticipation in his mind like a warm blanket. She was looking forward to putting the Blue Lion in its place. The Red Lion was the fastest and most agile of the pride. She knew this and intended to make sure the other Lions and paladins knew it too.

 _"Keith? Buddy?"_ Lance's voice held a note of uncertainty in it. The Altean laughed worriedly. _"Keith, you might want to slow down now. Keith? Keith!"_

Keithek brought his Lion up and over the Blue Lion, enjoying the way Lance turned the Blue Lion's massive head up to look at him. He could see Lance's astonished face in the corner of his eye through his view screen and he loved it. He licked his lips and brought his Lion down on Blue's, burying Red's teeth firmly in the Blue Lion's neck. He didn't let Red bite down hard enough to cause any real damage, but he made sure he held on hard enough to resist being thrown off by the Blue Lion's frantic attempts to throw him and Red off.

 _"Wha-? Let go!"_ Lance shouted through their open channel. _"Don't hurt the Lions!"_

"I'm not," Keithek replied confidently. "I'm just asserting dominance."

 _"Quiznack you,"_ Lance snapped, still trying to free his Lion from Red's grasp.

The Red Lion made a mental sound that Keithek intuitively knew was a laugh. "Red's loving this, by the way," he said. "She's been wanting to do this since you had your Lion bite her tail."

 _"That was a game,"_ Lance argued.

"So is this," Keithek replied. "We win."

He released the Blue Lion and watched it shake itself with satisfaction. Unfortunately, his gloating was cut short by a beam of purple energy that blasted between his Lion and the Blue Lion. He could feel his Lion wince. They'd been singed. It wasn't serious, but it was enough to incur the Red Lion's wrath.

Keithek turned his Lion about and studied the Galra battlecruiser. It had apparently been in the process of descending to the planet's surface when it had fired. Keithek and Lance's game must have attracted the Galra's attention. Great.

From this perspective, Keithek recognized the battlecruiser. It was definitely the one he and Lance had escaped from with the prisoners. What a coincidence. Not. But if it was the same battlecruiser, which he knew it was, then that meant Haxus was on board. Haxus had made Keithek submit.

The Red Lion growled furiously. How dare someone make her paladin submit without her permission. They would pay dearly for even attempting such a despicable thing. Her paladin was _hers_. She shared him with his mate, but no one else. Without Keithek's input, but with his full support, the Red Lion roared and made a beeline for the battlecruiser.

 _"Keith, wait!"_ Lance called urgently.

Keithek ignored the Altean's voice and focused on attacking the battlecruiser. He would make Haxus pay. This battlecruiser stood for everything that had been Keithek's life before: the forced submission, the hate for his lineage and lack of racial purity, his inability to do anything that satisfied his superiors, his inability to do anything _right_. They deserved to pay. Keithek would make them pay. He would bring down this battlecruiser with Haxus on board.

Keithek felt his sight sharpen and his consciousness merge with his Lion's. Together they roared, dodging the multiple beams of purple energy from the battlecruiser and landed roughly on the hull. They made sure to skid across the surface with their claws fully extended, bounding away just as the resulting damage caused the hull to explosively depressurize. Flames danced from the giant ship in the zero gravity vacuum of space like blazing feathers. They opened their mouth and blasted the vulnerable hull with a burst of blue energy. They snarled with glee when their attack burst straight through the damaged hull to the other side.

 _"Keith!"_

Keithek blinked and was suddenly back in his pilot seat, gasping and wide-eyed. His body tingled and his senses were heightened beyond what he thought he was ever capable of. "Woah," he breathed, astounded by the experience.

 _"Keith, are you alright"_ Lance called urgently, blasting the Galra ship with his own Lion.

Keithek caught his breath and nodded. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah, I'm fine. That was just… Wow."

Lance grinned in the side view screen _"Yeah. I've heard it can be a wild ride."_

Keithek tilted his head in what was both a shrug and nod. "It was… It was definitely something." His Lion purred in his head and he smiled. "Wouldn't mind doing that again some time."

He felt his Lion's approval and couldn't help but smile broadly. Something flashed in his other side view screen and he gave it a cursory glance to see what it was. He did a double-take when he saw the signals flashing green and yellow instead of the Galra's distinctive insignia signal.

"Lance?" he called, nodding to the signals on his view screen hoping the Altean was seeing the same thing he was. "What's that?"

There was a tick of silence before Lance gave a holler that was completely unexpected. Keithek's eyes widened and his ears flipped back to Lance's image in his other side view screen faster than Keithek could turn his head. He stared at the Blue Lion's paladin wondering if the Altean really was as insane as he'd appeared when they'd first met. He secretly thought that yes, he was, but he didn't really want to consciously admit it.

"Um," he said slowly. "Are you okay?"

 _"That's the others,"_ Lance said, his smile splitting his face in excitement. _"Let's take care of this ship and get to the Castle."_

Keithek felt Lance's excitement grow on him as a smile worked its way across his own face. It quickly faded however when an alarm began blaring in his cockpit. He had a split-tick to look up and comprehend the purple energy raging in his field of vision before his Lion reacted on its own, dodging to the right.

"Frell!" he shouted. "The ion cannon. I completely forgot about that."

Lance was gasping through their shared video feed, his expression just as terrified as Keithek's probably was.

 _"The Lions can't handle that kind of fire power,"_ Lance said. The Altean looked over his shoulder and grimaced. _"Normally, I'd suggest we all work together to deal with this, but considering our cargo…"_

Keithek nodded, clicking his tongue in annoyance. "Right."

 _"Pidge, Hunk, can you hear me?"_ Lance called over the Lions' communicators.

 _"Lance!"_ a male voice shouted, causing Keithek to wince and fold his ears back against his head and turn down the speaker's volume. _"You're alive."_

 _"You'd better have a good excuse for going MIA on us, you crazy prince,"_ another, younger voice said. It almost sounded female.

 _"I'm not sure what 'MIA' means, but I'm going to assume you just complimented me Pidge,"_ Lance said smoothly. _"I can tell you missed me. It just wasn't the same without my awesome presence riling things up, was it?"_

Keithek's ears twitched.

 _"Yep,"_ the higher pitched voice grumbled. _"That's him."_

 _"I'm so glad you're okay,"_ the deeper voiced male cried. That must be the yellow paladin, Keithek figured. The words matched up with the giant Yellow Lion's arrive and affectionate nuzzle it gave the Blue Lion.

Keithek's fingers tightened minutely on the controls.

 _"Oh I'm better than okay,"_ Lance said. _"I come bearing gifts. We have refugees aboard."_

 _"Incoming!"_

The Lions broke apart just another burst from the ion cannon split the space they'd all just occupied.

 _"Thanks Pidge."_

Pidge. That must be the Green Lion's paladin.

 _"No problem, Lance."_

 _"Can you cover us?"_ Lance asked. _"We have to get back to the Castle."_

 _"No problem,"_ the yellow paladin said. _"That's actually why we're here. Coran got the particle barrier working. Once we're all in the main hanger, Shiro can get the Black Lion and we can form Voltron."_

 _"Yeah,"_ the green paladin said with an audible grimace. _"Still not sure how we're supposed to do that, but whatever."_

 _"Don't worry guys,"_ Lance chirped happily. _"We totally got this."_

Keithek groaned and joined the other Lions in a nose dive towards a point on the ground that glowed a soft turquoise on his map view screen. The strange letters appeared by the strong signal making him assume that must be the Castle. His Lion shuddered as they flew through the planet's atmosphere. He could still see the Galra's red-purple signal on his map giving chase.

A tick later, Keithek's Lion broke through the lower atmosphere and was speeding over a green, mountainous landscape towards a sparkling blue ocean. There, perched on a stone outcropping connected to the mainland by a series of pure white bridges that seemed to be crumbling from age was a shining white and turquoise castle. Keithek's eyes grew wide.

"It's beautiful," he murmured.

 _"Oh hey newbie,"_ the yellow paladin's voice said over the communication system. Lance's video feed fizzled before settling back to the blue paladin's face. Lance's face was concerned and met Keithek's gaze seriously. Keithek read the silent message inLance's eyes and nodded in agreement. It would probably be best if the other paladins weren't aware of Keithek's identity as a Galra halfbreed until they were safely inside the castle and the Galra battlecruiser was destroyed.

 _"Wha-"_

 _"Sorry Hunk,"_ Lance said apologetically. _"I'm showing our new friend the ropes."_

Keithek felt his eyebrow twitch in annoyance.

 _"Can't have him being distracted by your pretty faces now, can we?"_ Lance continued.

 _"You think I'm pretty?"_ the yellow paladin squeaked.

 _"Sure,"_ Lance said, looking directly at Keithek in his side view screen. _"I think all of you are pretty. But Allura's the prettiest. No offense."_

 _"None taken,"_ the yellow paladin said with a chuckle. _"Not really surprised either. You're a bit biased."_

Lance shrugged and gave one of his now trademark blink-wink-things at Keithek's face. _"You know me,"_ he said to both Keithek and the yellow paladin. _"Can't resist a pretty face."_

Keithek's ears twitched and his eyes narrowed in a warning Lance duly ignored. Keithek would have to do something about his rebellious mate's blatant flirting.

"C _oran, now!"_ the yellow paladin yelled.

Keithek's attention jerked back to the front just in time to pull up short when a huge hanger door opened and a turquoise glow surrounded him. He turned his Lion around to see a particle barrier made of interlocking hexagonal sections surround the Castle in a perfect sphere.

 _"Paladins,"_ a distinctly female voice said over the speakers, startling Keithek. _"Enter the hanger. Once you're all inside, we can free the Black Lion and form Voltron."_

 _"You got it pretty lady,"_ Lance trilled earning him a growl from Keithek.

 _"Red paladin,"_ the female voice said. _"I can't wait to meet you in person. Welcome to the Castle of Lions."_

 _"Go Team Voltron!"_ the green paladin cheered steering his -her?- Lion into the massive hanger.

The Yellow Lion followed behind and landed next to the Green Lion. Lance flew his Lion in after, setting it down beside the Yellow Lion. Keithek steered his Lion in so he sat down next to Lance's Blue Lion. The Red Lion lowered its head and the main view screen zoomed in on a small figure standing on the ground facing a huge door at the back of the hanger. The person wore black and white armor with a helmet that hid their features.

 _"Come on Shiro,"_ the yellow paladin cheered. _"You can do this."_

 _"We believe in you,"_ the green paladin said with equal enthusiasm.

Keithek's face must have shown confusion because Lance said, _"Shiro's the Black Lion's paladin."_ Keithek turned to look at his mate in his side view screen. _"The Black Lion was locked in the Castle during the Great War to prevent the Galra from getting a hold of it after its paladin was lost. It can only be freed if all the other Lions and their paladins, us, are present."_

Movement on his main view screen drew Keithek's attention. He stared in open interest as the huge door slowly slid up and revealed a mechanical Lion that was much larger than any of the other Lions. Keithek lost his breath, stunned by the Black Lion's sheer size. It was gigantic. Its size was compounded by the two massive wings sprouting from its back. The Black Lion was wholly amazing.

The Red Lion gave an annoyed rumble and Keithek snorted. Just because he was impressed by the Black Lion didn't mean he preferred it. The Red Lion was _his_. His Lion could out fly, out maneuver, and out-do that gigantic windbag easily. The Red Lion preened happily at its paladin's praise, purring in satisfaction. It brought a chuckle to Keithek's lips.

"Good kitty," he purred, rubbing his thumbs over the control handles.

He listened to the Red Lion purr happily as he watched the Black Lion lean down and open its mouth for the black paladin to climb aboard.

"Um," came a voice from behind Keithek.

Keithek blinked and turned around. Frell, he'd completely forgotten about the refugees. At the reminder, the stench he'd also forgotten slammed into his nose with all its pungent glory. He coughed.

"Right, right," he grumbled, trying not to hold his nose. "Lance," he called over his communicator. "I'm letting the refugees out now."

Lance's image jolted I shock, and his expression turned awkward. _"Oh yeah. Forgot."_

Keithek huffed and rolled his eyes, secretly glad he wasn't the only one who'd forgotten his stinky cargo. He brought his Lion's head down and opened its mouth. A couple buttons opened the hatch allowing access to the exit. "Climb down and get to the hanger floor," he ordered the refugees. "Someone'll come and get you."

 _"Hey Coran,"_ Lance called to whoever was operating the castle. _"Keith and I are unloading the refugees in the hanger. They may need the cryopods. Some of them are injured."_

"Not our fault," Keithek said quickly.

 _"You said that pretty quick,"_ the yellow paladin said.

 _"Yeah,"_ the green paladin agreed. _"Totally suspicious."_

 _"Guys,"_ a new male voice interrupted. _"Not now. Keith."_

Keithek stiffened at his truncated name. It sounded weird coming from someone else's mouth. "Y-yes?" he answered.

 _"Welcome to the team,"_ the black paladin said warmly.

Keithek felt a smile cross his face.

Then he was blinded by a burst of light and deafened by a thunderous _BANG!_


	14. 14: Blaze of Glory

**A/N:** Yep, the moment y'all've been waiting for. Voltron makes its debut. Oh what's this about pleas for Allura and Team Voltron's reactions to Keith? Nope, not this chapter. That's the next chapter. Don't worry. I can say for certain because it's already written and uploaded, it just won't be posted until tomorrow. I'm mean and power hungry like that. Have a good read lovelies~

 **Again:** I couldn't respond to reviews due to the "Invalid Message 3" thing so I'm responding here:

 _FrontIrony:_ You're welcome. Here's another update~

 _Triscribe:_ Bang is a great way to end a chapter. It leaves itself opne to interpretation. (And yes, it is a fantastic sensation.)

 _3:_ They aren't exactly known for their timing but they are known for having fun. XD

I'll edit this one last time tomorrow morning when I wake up and am a functioning human being. Night~ **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which the Allura tries to keep the Castle's cripple defenses up and running, Pidge learns a new curse word, Lance panics, and Hunk is a leg! **  
**

* * *

 **14: Blaze of Glory**

Allura saw the ion cannon fire mere instants before it struck the Castle's particle barrier directly. Flames and smoke filled all the view screens but thankfully the barrier held, for now.

"The particle barrier is down to 60%, your highness," Coran called from his position by the weapons panel.

"Only 60%?" Allura gasped. "That shouldn't be. The particle barrier should hold against a blast like that for much longer."

Coran shook his head and looked over his shoulder at her with distress visible on his face. "Maybe 10,000 years ago that was true," he said. "The paladins are right. We're working with outdated data." He turned back to the large main view screen and swallowed nervously. "I fear the Galra's technology has not only advanced but given a power upgrade as well." The smoke and flames vanished revealing the damaged Galra battlecruiser hovering a couple klicks away from the Castle close to the surface of Arus. "We can only hope it still takes a while for that cannon to recharge or we're goners," he said.

Allura clenched her jaw and glared at the battlecruiser hatefully. "Not yet, we're not," she hissed. She opened a channel to the Lions and spoke. "Paladins," she said, "I'm going to lower the particle barrier. On my mark, I want all of you to fly to the Galra battlecruiser and form Voltron. I'll raise the barrier as soon as you're all clear of the Castle."

"Princess!" Coran cried in dismay.

"Coran and I will give you cover fire with the Castle's defenses," Allura continued, ignoring his advisor's voice. "But you'll have to act fast. We aren't back to full power yet." She bit her lip. "As it is, the particle barrier can only withstand two more direct hits from the Galra's ion cannon. You'll have to form Voltron before the Castle's barrier is fully depleted. If you don't," she gripped the control towers by her side, "then we've lost before we've even begun."

 _"Allura,"_ Lance's voice said through the communicator. He sounded nervous. _"You can trust us,"_ he said loudly, determination filling his voice.

Allura felt a lump form in her throat. Knowing Lance, he was probably afraid but fighting past it with the same proud bluster he showed in every aspect of his life. For Lance's sake, Allura hoped they could win this battle. She refused to lose her brother when he'd only just returned. She hadn't even seen him yet. Lance hadn't seen their father's memory core.

That thought filled the princess with resolve and cold, calm fury. The Galra had taken practically everything from her. They had defeated her people, murdered her father, indirectly forced her to sleep for 10,000 years, and were now on the verge of possibly murdering her brother and her new paladins. They were her responsibility. She would protect them with everything she had. The Galra would not win this.

She smiled grimly. "I do trust you Lance," she said. "Now fly out there and make me proud. On my mark."

 _"We're ready, princess,"_ Shiro's voice declared boldly.

Allura's grin grew. "Mark!" she shouted just as she lowered the particle barrier.

She saw the five Lions flew out of the main hanger into the airspace visible on her view screen. The moment they were clear, she raised the barrier again. Just in time too. Another blast from the Galra's ion cannon impacted the particle barrier a split-tick after it had reformed. Alarms began blaring as the entire Castle shuddered.

"The barrier is down to 30%," Coran declared. "Ready to fire on your command princess."

Allura removed her hand from the control towers and spread them out over the holographic map hovering directly in front of her. It gave her a three-dimensional view of the battlefield. She was the Castle and the Galra battlecruiser hovered on the other side of the map new a raised hill by the sea shore. The topography of the holographic map raised in jagged edges indicating differences in altitude and surface type.

She pointed at the battlecruiser, indicating several points on the ship she wanted to be struck by the Castle's weapons. The Castle didn't have enough power currently to give a directed blast from its primary weapon without wasting precious ticks charging. They would have to rely on the secondary weapons: blasters of equal power and magnitude to the Lions' mouth guns. Unfortunately, with the Castle's systems still not fully functioning after it 10,000 year long slumber, the accuracy of the targeting system was likely compromised. Be that as it may, that didn't mean Allura wouldn't give it her best shot.

She may not have her brother's ability as a sharpshooter, but she was a decent shot. She may miss her intended target, but she would make sure to cause as much collateral damage as possible. The Galra would lose this fight if it killed her.

She glared at her chosen targets glowing blue on the holographic Galra battlecruiser and squared her shoulders. "Fire," she commanded.

Coran obediently unleashed the Castle's fury. Most of the targets were missed, but not by much. The damage to the battlecruiser was still notable and with the Lions attacking it as well, it was only a matter of time until the ship was no longer airworthy. Her brow furrowed at the image. She watched as her paladins darted around the Galra battlecruiser on her holographic targeting map in bewilderment.

Why hadn't they formed Voltron yet? Why were they all attacking as separate entities?

She moved to open a channel when a voice interrupted her.

 _"Coran."_

It was Lance.

"I'm here Lance," Coran replied, making sure the Castle guns maintained as much accuracy as they could manage while avoiding the ever moving targets that were the Lions. "A bit busy, but I'm here."

 _"I know I'm not Allura,"_ Lance began.

Allura blinked in confusion.

 _"But I need you to follow my commands as if I were her, alright?"_

 _"Lance wha-"_

 _"Not now Hunk,"_ Lance cut off the yellow paladin quickly.

 _"Please Coran, I need you to trust me right now."_

Coran turned to Allura who looked just as flabbergasted as her advisor. She opened her mouth to speak when Lance chimed in again.

 _"I'm sorry Allura's dead,"_ Lance said and Allura gasped in shock. _"And I know I'm not the ideal, but right now I'm all we've got."_

 _What the quiznack was going on here?_ Allura thought wildly.

 _"Please,"_ Lance continued. _"I'll explain everything when we defeat these fraking bastards."_

Allura flushed furiously at her brother's language but remained quiet. She was beginning to suspect Lance was saying more than he was letting on.

 _"I need you to trust me right now,_ " Lance said. _"Can you do that?"_

Coran looked at Allura for permission. Still confused but willing to wait and see how this turned out, Allura nodded. She hoped she wouldn't live to regret this decision. She could always punish her brother later either way.

"I shall endeavor to do my best," Coran said.

 _"That's all I need,"_ Lance said sounding relieved.

"I sure hope that boy knows what he's doing," Coran muttered after closing the open channel.

Allura bit her lip, silently agreeing with her advisor. But she couldn't afford to dwell on this little wrinkle though. Right now, she had a Castle to protect and a burgeoning rebellion to spark. She dropped her gaze back to the holographic targeting map and began picking out more targets, taking care to trajectory choose paths that would hopefully have the least impact on her paladins' movements.

* * *

Lance swerved, executing a perfect roll as one of the Castle's blue bursts of energy skirted past him. He shook his head. _Cutting it a bit close there sis_ , he thought. Blue grumbled in agreement but continued the fire enthusiastic blasts at the battlecruiser.

He'd taken a risk talking to Coran over the open channel, but he hoped it would pay off. If the Galra had somehow hacked their communications, which was a legitimate possibility since the channel they were currently using to talk to the Castle wasn't secured or encrypted, then they heard Lance confirm Allura's death. Coran sounded confused and Lance could only imagine how bewildered his sister was right now, but thankfully Coran hadn't questioned him. Neither had the other paladins; that had been his biggest worry. However, his fellow paladins seemed to focus on another, more pressing issue at the moment.

Lance listened to his fellow paladins talk to each other over the open channel and bit his lip. He'd refused to drop the video feed from Keith's Red Lion preventing anyone else from cutting in. He wasn't sure if revealing the red paladin's heritage in the middle of a fight against the Galra was a good idea. What they needed to do was form Voltron, defeat these bad guys, and get back to the Castle in one piece. Thing was, no one actually knew how to form Voltron. Worse, they all were operating under the misguided belief that _Lance_ knew how to Voltron. How laughable was that?

"Look guys," Lance said in growing frustration. "For the last time, I do not know how to form Voltron. I wasn't a paladin until now. I _talked_ to the previous paladins, sure. I was even friends with a few, flirted with all of them. Three even reciprocated." He grinned when he heard Keith's audible growl through their video feed. "But they never told me how to form Voltron. I got the feeling it wasn't something that could be learned so much as just...done."

 _"Well that's helpful. Not. How are we supposed to do this then?"_ Pidge demanded, firing a blast at the Galra that seemed more out of frustration than accuracy since it did little damage.

 _"No idea about that but I do think you should be aware of those fighters over there,"_ Keith said, turning his Lion around to bat away a small fighter that had somehow snuck passed his guard.

 _"Fighters?"_ Shiro gasped.

 _"I'll try taking out that ion cannon thing,"_ Hunk declared, flying his Yellow Lion straight at the giant gun. " _You guys cover me."_

 _"We're on it,"_ Pidge said, flying his Lion around the Yellow Lion and biting down on a fighter that had been encroaching on his friend. _"We'll cover your butt, Hunk,"_ he said with a snicker.

 _"Why do I detect sarcasm in that statement?"_ Hunk said despairingly.

This was followed by a grunt of surprise. Lance glance at the map on his right view screen and saw the Yellow Lion flying wildly out into space.

"Hunk," he called. "Hunk, are you alright?"

The yellow paladin made a few sounds that indicated quite clearly that he was _not_ alright. Lance winced in sympathy. "I guess that thing has a shield," he said.

 _"Great, just great,"_ the green paladin whined. _"Not what we needed right now. Hunk, you had better not be hurling in that Lion. I am not cleaning up your vomit."_

 _"Guys,"_ Shiro said. _"Calm down. Let's try working together. Maybe if we sync up or something Voltron will just form and we can take care of the ion cannon then."_

 _"Right,"_ Hunk said doubtfully, obviously still trying to keep from throwing up. _"Any you know this, how?"_

Shiro sighed heavily. _"I **don't** know,"_ he admitted. " _But it's the best idea I've got. Unless anyone else has any suggestions."_

 _"Not suggestions,"_ Keith said, speaking up for the first time. _"But the fighters are definitely getting more aggressive."_ Lance saw Keith grin and lean over his controls eagerly. _"They're getting desperate. That's a good thing, I guess."_

Lance turned his Lion to face the oncoming fighters and groaned. "And how is that a good thing?" he grumbled. "I'm not exactly fit for accurate target practice at the moment in case you forgot."

 _"I thought you of all people would jump at the chance to shoot some Galra outta the sky,"_ Pidge said.

Lance glanced at Keith in his side view screen with a grimace. "Let's just say I'm down an eye right now and leave it at that," he said.

 _"Down an- What?"_ Shiro gasped.

 _"Lance?! What the hell are you talking about?"_ Hunk demanded urgently.

 _"Nice going, idiot,"_ Keith said. _"That's the perfect way to freak anyone out."_

Lance glared at Keith's image.

 _"He's got a black eye,"_ Keith explained to the others. _"It's swollen shut right now. Calm your smegs and focus on the fight."_

 _"Smeg?"_ Shiro said in surprise.

 _"Smeg?"_ Hunk parroted in confusion. _"What is that?"_

 _"Ooh! Is that another alien curse word? Nice,"_ the green paladin cheer, darting around a couple Galra fighters so the Yellow Lion could literally smash them flat against the battlecruiser's damaged hull. _"Consider it added to my lexicon."_

 _"Pidge, please don't,"_ Shiro said, sounding like a tired father.

 _"I do what I want,"_ Pidge chirped. _"You're acting like an old man. Spoil sport."_

Lance blinked, then began cackling. "Old man," he gasped breathlessly. "Oh, oh frell. Shiro is an old man. That's hilarious. Alright, that's it. Shiro, you are now officially dubbed Space Dad."

 _"No!"_ Shiro cried. _"Definitely not."_

 _"I'm not against it,"_ Keith said mildly on Lance's side.

 _"Space Dad,"_ Pidge cheered.

 _"Face it, Shiro,"_ Hunk said with an audible smile. _"You're officially Space Dad now."_

 _"Oh my god,"_ Shiro groaned. " _Lance, you're technically older than all of us put together."_

"Semantics," Lance said, waving his hand with a charismatic smile. "I may be technically older but I'm actually only thirty-four periods old, almost thirty-five. My birthday was in just a few cyclesa. Besides, I look younger than yo-"

 _"Guys?"_ Keith broke off Lance's boastful rambling with an expression of growing horror on his face. _"LOOK OUT!"_

The sky glowed a brilliant purple hue as the dreaded ion cannon fired at the Castle of Lions once again. No. They hadn't been able to for Voltron. They hadn't been able to stop it. They hadn't been able to do anything. They had five giant, powerful Lions and all they could do was watch helplessly as their one stronghold was attacked. They were useless.

"NO!" Lance screamed in dismay, watching in horror as the Castle's particle barrier took the full force of the direct hit and absorbed it, distributing the power around the Castle. For a moment, Lance held out hope that the barrier would hold. But with a bright flash, the particle barrier vanished. The Castle defenseless. Coran.

Allura.

Unacceptable!

"Hunk!" he yelled into the speaker, ignoring how Keith winced in the video feed next to him. "The Yellow Lion has the strongest armor out of all the Lions in the pride. This is an order from the Sentinel of the Castle and the Prince of Altea: hit that fraking shield protecting the ion cannon as hard as you can. We'll back you up. Shiro!"

 _"Got it,"_ the Black Lion's paladin said, taking charge. _"Hunk, do as he says. The rest of you, concentrate your fire on the shield. If we can take that out, then we can destroy that cannon before it has a chance to destroy the Castle."_

 _"Don't have to tell me twice,"_ Hunk said.

Without another word, the Yellow Lion sped up towards the ion cannon at top speed just as the other four Lions fired a synchronized blast of energy at the shield. The purple shield made of interlocking scale-like patterns fritzed and sputtered under the onslaught. But it exploded in purple sparks when the Yellow Lion smashed into it with its entire body. It was a welcoming sight that had all the paladins cheering.

They're joy didn't last long, however. An alarm began wailing in the Blue Lion's cockpit a tick before Blue began shaking and shuddering. Lance looked up and cursed. By focusing their attention and fire power on the ion cannon's shield, the Lions had inadvertently gathered in a group that was directly within range of the battlecruiser's tractor beam which activated that very moment.

"No," Lance breathed, feeling fear gnaw at his heart. His chest tightened and he felt his grip on the Blue Lion's controls slip as his hands grew sweat and his body began to shake. "No," he said louder. "No. I won't be taken again. Quiznack you! I won't get captured again!"

He pulled back on his controls and felt the Blue Lion fight against the tractor beam with all her might. But it was no use. They continued to move up towards the battlecruiser. Lance screamed and continued to struggled against the pull.

 _"Lance!"_

He caught his breath, feeling slightly dizzy. He was hyperventilating, he realized distantly. He felt detached and yet completely present. He was having a panic attack.

 _"Lance, look at me!"_

Reacting instinctively to the spoken command, Lance turned to the side view screen where Keith was staring at him. Lance could see the eerie purple glow in the Red Lion's cockpit through the video feed and knew the halfbreed had also been caught in the tractor beam.

 _"Lance, listen to me,"_ Keith said, grunting as he held onto his Lion's controls with all his strength. _"We won't get captured again, I promise. Remember what you said when we rescued those prisoners?"_

Lance was still breathing hard and his thoughts were jumbled and racing too fast for him to think clearly. He shook his head in short, quick movements.

 _"You said you'd kill me before they caught us, if that's what I wanted,"_ Keith said.

Lance swallowed over his dry throat and nodded. He vaguely remembered that.

 _"I said I would prefer that,"_ Keith continued. _"I'll kill you too if you want me to."_ The halfbreed flashed Lance a weary smile. _"I mean, it's not like I could live long without you anyway."_

A fluttery laugh escape the Blue paladin's mouth, the faintest hint of hysteria tinging its edges.

 _"No!"_ Shiro shouted angrily. _"No one is dying today. **We** can't die today. Not now. We are the universe's only hope. If we lose this, the Galra will win and everyone we love will die. We won't lose. I refuse to lose. **refuse!** "_

 _"Then,"_ Hunk said hesitantly, _"what do you want us to do?"_

 _"Fight it,"_ Shiro commanded. _"Don't let them win. We're stronger than this. We can do this. We won't lose Not today. Not ever!"_

A flood of blue tinted energy suddenly overwhelmed Lance's mind, drowning him and sustaining him. For that miraculous moment, he _was_ the Blue Lion. And boy was she pissed. She looked up at the tractor beam's origin and gave a deafening roar of defiance echoed by her fellow Lions. The pride would not be captured today.

Purple energy began to fill the pipe leading to the battlecruiser's ion cannon as it began to power up. One more shot from that and the Castle of Lions, every Lance knew and loved, everything, would be blown away. He would be alone. Forever. He didn't want to be alone. Blue growled in his mind. She wouldn't _let_ him be alone.

With a power Lance never knew the Lions had, the pride broke free of the tractor beam and began to fly in formation. The blue energy surrounded the Blue Lion, enveloping both him and his Lion until all he could see and hear was blue. The Blue Lion was flying, he realized in shock. Lance wasn't in control, Blue was. He released the controls and watched in wonder as his Lion changed its form. Blue darted down underneath the Black Lion and next to the Yellow Lion, jolting into place. His Lion rumbled in approval and the blue energy faded leaving Lance dazed and disoriented as if he was coming down from a high from eating too many juniberries at once.

He blinked and realized his screens had shifted slightly. Keith was still visible in his left side view screen and the coordinate map with its many flashing signals was still lit and demanding his attention on the right view screen. But the main view screen now showed a gigantic, Altenoid robot in the lower left corner with glowing indicators surrounding it. One flashed the amount of damage they had taken: none so far. Another series of letters indicated the greatest possible power output they were currently capable of dishing out and another few circle charts glowed, showing the synchronization rate between the paladins and their Lions as well as the paladins and each other.

But what captured Lance's full attention was the Altean letters scrawled above the Altenoid robot's schematics in bright, vibrant blue: Voltron.

"We did it," he breathed. "We did it." He laughed. "We _did it!"_

 _"Holy shit!"_ Pidge cried.

 _"Incredible,"_ Keith said, an ecstatic smile on his face.

 _"We formed Voltron!"_ Shiro exclaimed in surprised disbelief.

 _"I'm a **leg!** "_ Hunk cried joyfully.

 _"Stop that cannon!"_ Shiro shouted.

Lance snapped to attention and pushed his controls, powering Voltron up to the Altenoid robot hit the battlecruiser's hull and kept pushing. The sky turned purple again and Lance feared the worst. He quickly scanned his coordinate map view screen and laughed in relief when he saw the Castle's bold turquoise signal still pulsing with life. It was still there. Allura was still there. Coran was still there. His home was still there.

They'd done it. They'd saved the Castle and everything Lance loved. Blue grumbled in his mind and Lance chuckled. Well, if they'd lost the Castle, Lance honesty doubted they would've won this battle and the Galra would have separated him and Blue. The Lion snarled but grudgingly agreed with that logic.

They'd saved the Castle. Now it was time to end this. Apparently everyone else was of the same mind.

 _"Alright guys,"_ Shiro's voice came over the speakers, eager and excited. _"Let's do this!"_

 _"Oh yeah!"_ Pidge shouted.

Together, the paladins flew Voltron up above the battlecruiser and fire a blast from the Red and Green Lions which currently served as Voltron's right and left arms respectively. Lance, as the right leg, helped keep the robot balanced with Hunk, the left leg. Voltron flew straight at the hateful ion cannon, grabbing it and ripping it right off the battlecruiser in the middle of its power up cycle. The resulting overload of energy that no longer had anywhere to go exploded. Voltron tossed the ion cannon, now a useless piece of space junk, into the ocean where it would sink and be crushed by the water pressure, never to be used again.

Next, Voltron pounced on the battlecruiser's thoroughly damaged hull and punched a hole right through the top with its right arm, the Red Lion, and fired a beam of energy from the Lion's mouth once it was inside the hull. The beam burst through the metal, piercing all the way through the hull and blowing it to smithereens. Voltron did the same maneuver with its left arm, the Green Lion, firing a similar blast from that Lion's mouth directly into the command tower of the battlecruiser.

The giant, intimidating Galra battlecruiser no longer resembled a spaceship capable of decimating its enemies. It was now an exploding, burning pile of crumbled metal. Or it was for all of three ticks. Then it was an enormous fireball that shone brighter than the planet's parent star for several ticks before the remaining bits and pieces of smoking debris fell like sad rain to the planet's surface and ocean.

 _"Woah,"_ Keith's voice murmured in awestruck wonder through the open communications channel.

Lance nodded in agreement, currently speechless by the sight.

 _"Guys,"_ Hunk said softly. _"I-I think we won."_

 _"I… Yeah I think we did,"_ Pidge agreed, sounding just as stunned.

 _"We did it,"_ Shiro said, a smile in his voice. _"We won."_


	15. 15: Feverish Aftermath

**A/N:** Welp, this is it. This is the chapter y'all have been waiting for. The reactions. Some of them may not be what you expected, some may be exactly what you expected, and some may be different now from what they actually are. Diplomats are politicians after all. In public, they're calm and carefully word everything. Behind closed doors though, the masks are removed. In short, fear Allura.

I'll edit this fully tomorrow morning. Night~

 **FYI:** Still can't reply to reviews so I'm replying to them here:

 _3:_ Shiro will always be Space Dad. He'll never escape that title. Ever. He's too much of a dad.

 _Triscribe:_ Go Team indeed! Whoo!

 _Sunny Lighter:_ Yeah. These guys don't have good timing. The shit-hitting-the-fan thing starts this chapter and goes into the next. What fun.

 _FrostIrony:_ YAASSS~

 _Fujihi poudes-Escapa non:_ But responsibilty requires being an adult. I don't like adulting. That means I have to pay bills and go to work. Yuck. Pidge is kind of like a kid!Loki I guess. S/he's green too so that helps. Shiro will always be Space Dad. No matter what. Lance's protective streak for his sister will get him in trouble one day. Reactions are in this chapter and the next.

 **Chapter summary:** In which a victory is finally achieved, Pidge is the first one to suspect something more, the long-awaited introductions happen, Lance is an incurable tease, and Allura takes it all in like a true diplomat, for now.

* * *

 **15: Feverish Aftermath**

Lance began laughing. It was all too much. Once he started, he couldn't stop. He kept laughing even after his stomach began to cramp up and his fellow paladins started to sound concerned for his mental health. He simply couldn't believe it. They'd done it. They'd won. They'd saved the Castle and Allura.

Allura.

He pressed a button on the controls and called, "Coran! Coran, did you see that? We _won!"_

 _"I most certainly did,"_ the advisor replied sounding just as exhilarated as the paladins felt. _"Now get your quiznacks back here so I can hug the lot of you."_

Lance snickered but it was Keith who spoke. "I don't think you're using that word correctly," he said wryly.

"Oh shut your quiznack Keith," Lance said with a teasing glance at the video feed on his left. Keith stared at him with an expression that was a hilarious mix of amusement and incredulity. "You're just jealous that I'm more awesome than you."

 _"Hardly,"_ Keith said snippily.

"Ooh, touchy-touchy this morning," Lance said.

 _"I think it's evening actually,"_ Hunk threw in there helpfully.

"Thank you Hunk. Touchy-touchy this evening Keith," Lance said, with another wink-blink-thing. "I think you're jealous."

 _"Wha- Why the frell would I be jealous?"_ Keith said, flinching away from the video feed with a flush in his pale purple cheeks.

 _"Um, are you two flirting?"_ Pidge asked suspiciously.

Lance grinned. "Let's break up and go see Allura guys," he said to the other paladins. "I need to see me some pretty lady."

 _"I can agree with that,"_ Shiro said.

The Lions disengaged and Lance shook his head, momentarily thrown by the loss of whatever energy had been flowing through him while they were merged as Voltron. His screens returned to their normal layout and he smiled.

 _"Last one there is a rotten egg,"_ Pidge crowed and blasted off towards the Castle's main hanger.

 _"Hey!"_ Hunk cried in dismay. _"Totally not fair. You had a head start."_

 _"Coran did promise us food if we won,"_ Shiro added with a chuckle.

 _"Make way for the Hunk!"_

And the Yellow Lion blasted away, speeding past the Green Lion with startling speed to park securely in the hanger.

 _"What? How did you do that?"_ Pidge said.

 _"Pidge is a rotten egg!"_ Hunk crowed triumphantly behind climbing out of his Lion.

Shiro's laughter echoed through the speakers. _"Wait up Hunk,"_ he said, following the Green Lion at a much more sedate pace. _"Let's go check on Coran and the princess on the bridge first."_

"Good idea," Lance said suddenly. "You guys go on ahead. Keith and I will catch up."

 _"It's no trouble,"_ Shiro said. _"We can wait."_

All of the worry Lance hadn't even realized he should've felt about this situation suddenly came crashing onto him. He paled and gulped, glancing nervously at Keith through their shared video feed. Keith looked just as nervous, but there was an edge of determination and pride that gave Lance the encouragement he need.

"Alright," he said. "Wait for us in the hanger. We'll join you as soon as we land."

 _"Alright,"_ Shiro said. _"Meet you on the ground."_

Lance cut off his connection to the open channel and turned to Keith. "You ready?" he asked.

Keith narrowed his eyes, the violet irises gleamed starkly against the yellow distinctive of the Galra race. His furry ears were folded back against his head revealing his anxiety, but the grim set of his mouth showed no signs of him backing out. That was all the answer Lance needed.

"Alright," he said, nodding. "Let's get this over with."

Together the red and blue paladin flew down to land in the hanger next to Hunk Yellow Lion. Lance turned off all of the Blue Lion's systems and waited for Blue to lower her head and open her mouth. The trap door in the floor slid open revealing the way to the ramp in Blue's mouth. He took a deep breath and pasted a proud smile on his face before strolling down the ramp as if he had no care in the world.

"Hey guys?" he said, throwing out his arms dramatically. "Miss me?"

"Lance!" Hunk cried.

Lance had just enough time to brace himself for impact before the yellow paladin's impressive mass smashed into him full force. But it was useless. Lance promptly crumbled to the ground beneath Hunk's weight. He coughed but still managed to laugh despite his lack of air.

"Hey there bro," he said. "Sorry, but you have to get off me. Can't breathe."

"Gah! Sorry." The yellow paladin quickly got to his feet, offering a hand to help the Altean prince up. When Lance lifted his head into the light, Hunk's eyes grew round. "Holy cow!"

Now the mothering Lance feared would happen. He flushed and laughed self-consciously.

"That's some shiner you got there man," Pidge said, scampering up next to Hunk and standing on his tip-toes to get a better look at Lance's bruised and swollen right eye. "What did you do?"

Lance groaned and sulked. "I like that. I come home with a black eye and you automatically assume it's my fault," he said.

"Did something you did cause it?" Pidge asked smartly.

"Well," Lance said thoughtfully, "yeah. But in my defense, Zarkon deserved it so-"

"Zarkon?!" Shiro said, shock plainly visible on his face. "You _saw_ him?"

Lance's face grew solemn. "Yeah, I did. A lot happened while I was away. I'll explain everything once I see Allura. She needs to know what's going on."

"Yeah, I think she does."

Lance gave Shiro an odd look when he heard to cold edge in the black paladin's voice, but Shiro's gaze wasn't focused on him. It was trained on something over Lance's shoulder. Lance turned slowly around. A part of him knew what he would see, but he sincerely hoped the subject of the black paladin's obvious anger wasn't who he thought it was.

He had horrendous luck, it seemed.

There, standing on the ramp in the Red Lion's mouth was Keith. The halfbreed looked absolutely astonished. His tufted ears were fully erect and facing forward, his black pupils had dilated to the point they almost completely devoured the violet irises, and Keith had adopted a fight-or-flight pose that significantly leaned towards the flight option. The red paladin was staring straight at the black paladin with fear and recognition.

"Champion," Keith whispered in a shaky voice.

"Galra," Shiro said in calm fury.

"Galra?" Hunk echoed in shock.

"You two know each other?" Lance said, looking between Keith and Shiro.

* * *

Keithek's gaze wavered, dropping to Shiro's mechanical arm then back up to the black paladin's face just in time to see the first signs of attack. He moved to duck and draw his hidden dagger when his sight was suddenly blocked by an eyeful of Lance's buttocks. Normally that sight wouldn't bother him all that much, but in this situation it was a bit unexpected.

"Shiro, stand down," Lance ordered in a cool, clipped tone.

Shiro was breathing hard and his eyes were vacant. A buzzing sound Keithek recognized from the few times he'd seen the Champion fight in the arena with his superiors filled his ears and he shuddered. He'd seen what that Druid-made weapon could do. He knew what the Champion was capable of: death and destruction the likes of which even the Galra were impressed by. Keithek would be no match for the Champion even if he was in the best shape, which he wasn't at the moment.

More importantly, Lance was currently standing between him and the Champion, challenging the Champion head-on. For Keithek. Lance, who wasn't an alpha, who had only been mated to Keithek through a coincidence that should have resulted in both of their deaths, who had been the trigger for Keithek to finally escape that hellhole of a battlecruiser, who had offered Keithek another, better reason to live. Lance, who was his mate, was standing between Keithek and a threat.

That was not something the alpha within him could stand.

Keithek snarled and yanked Lance behind him, placing himself between his mate and the Champion. "Leave him alone," he growled furiously. "You want to fight Champion? You fight with me. Leave Lance out of it."

The black paladin bared his teeth and Keithek returned the threat with his own, adding in a snarl just because he could. The Champion was taller and bulkier than Keithek, but the halfbreed was probably quicker. Probably. Not.

"Keith no," Lance said, grabbing Keithek's shoulders and trying to pulled the halfbreed aside so he step back between them. Keithek shook off his mate's hands, making sure to stay between him and the Champion when Lance tried to step around him. Keithek was an alpha. An alpha would never let harm come to their mates if they could help it, ever.

"Shiro _stop!"_ another voice shouted.

Keithek blinked and suddenly Pidge was there hanging onto the Champion's mechanical arm trying to pull it down with his weight. Hunk had wrapped his large arms around the Champion's entire torso, locked his hands together over the Champion's armored chest, and was squeezing with all his might.

"Shiro knock it off!" Hunk shouted.

"What're you doing?" Pidge cried, swinging his legs and bouncing in a steady rhythm that had the Champion's weaponized arm bouncing up and down. As long as Pidge held on, the Champion wouldn't be able to get in a well-placed hit on Keithek. Of course, if Hunk managed to keep the Champion's arms pinned by his sides, then Keithek had a better chance at coming out of this alive. It wasn't a much better chance, but it _was_ better.

"That's enough!" a voice Keithek recognized as Allura from the brief communication he'd had with her. "Shiro, what are you doing?"

"Allura!" Lance cried.

Keithek muttered a curse when his mate somehow escaped from safety behind him and began running across the hanger to _embrace_ the new arrival. Embrace and _kiss!_ Now that was just not acceptable.

Thankfully, Allura's voice had somehow shaken the Champion from whatever mindset he'd been locked in. The black paladin was blinking and dazed. Keithek stiffened, unsure what would happen now. Keithek's eyes skittered between the Champion who had slumped in the yellow paladin's arms, the Champion's mechanical arm which now hung de-activated by his side, and his mate who was _still hugging that woman!_

"Shiro?" Pidge asked carefully. "What happened?"

"I…" The Champion gave a full body shudder. "I'm not…sure." He blinked and actually _looked_ at Keithek still crouched defensively in front of him. His eyebrows drew down in befuddlement. "You… You're a halfbreed, aren't you?" the Champion asked, sounding unsure of himself.

Keithek tensed. "What of it?" he snapped, still high strung and waiting to be attacked.

But the Champion shook his head. "It's okay Hunk," he said. "I'm fine right now. Really," he added when the yellow paladin didn't release him right away.

"You had an episode didn't you?" Hunk asked grimly.

The Champion looked at the bulkier paladin in surprise before slumping in defeat. "I saw Keith and I just… I saw the arena again and I…" He sighed and lifted his eyes to Keithek's sadly, offering a broken smile. "I-I'm sorry for my behavior. I hope you can forgive me."

Keithek's ears twitched, mirroring the uncertainty he felt. He jolted when the Champion extended his mechanical hand in what appeared to be a peaceful gesture. The Champion's eyes became even sadder but he withdrew his hand and offered out his other instead.

"I'm Shiro," the Champion said. "It's good to finally meet you face-to-face. I'm really am sorry for my behavior." The black paladin bowed slightly at the waist as he spoke. "What I did was incredibly rude and uncalled for."

Keithek eased out of his defensive crouch and, after a moment's consideration, took the offered flesh-and-blood hand. "I...Keithek," he said simply. "I'm Keithek."

Hunk's eyebrows lowered in confusion "I thought your name was-"

"That idiot Altean refuses to call me by my full name," Keithek said, huffing in frustration he didn't really feel.

"Yes, that does sound like Lance," Allura said, joining the group with Lance _still clinging to her_ and another red-haired man Keithek assumed was Coran. Keithek glared at his mate who just grinned back unrepentantly. Keithek started at his mate's defiance and sniffed in annoyance. Lance was going to pay dearly for this later. He'd make sure of it.

"I'm Allura," Allura said, offering both of her hands with a guileless smile. "You've met Lance," she said, nodding to Keithek's mate who was _still hugging her -was that **another** kiss?!- _ with a fond smile that rubbed Keithek in all the wrong ways.

Keithek took both of Allura's hands firmly in his and squeezed perhaps a bit harder than he should have but Allura didn't complain.

"This is Shiro, the Black Lion's paladin," Allura continued with the introductions with the ease of a practiced diplomat, "Pidge, the Green Lion's paladin, and Hunk, the Yellow Lion's paladin."

"And I'm Coran," the red-haired man said, reaching out and giving Keithek an enthusiastic pat on the back. "Resident advisor and jack-of-all-trades I guess. It's an honor to meet a Galra halfbreed."

Keithek stiffened. "An honor?" he repeated, completely thrown.

"Oh yes," Coran said. "The Galra are known for their purist take on racism. To find such a rare specimen as yourself is a gift indeed. So much to study!"

Keithek edged away from the man, suddenly wishing he was anywhere but stuck under this crazy Altean's gaze. He'd even prefer to be back in one of Commander Sendak's prisons. Maybe. Okay, maybe not. But still!

"Coran," Allura chided mildly. The Altean woman turned back to Keithek and bit her lip.

There. That was what Keithek had expected to see. Allura was definitely trained as an ambassador or mediator of some kind. She was skilled at hiding her inner thoughts and feelings, but so was Keithek. It was practically a requirement to survive in the Galra army, or the Galra race in general. That one slip was a shout in Keithek's ears.

Allura did not particularly like him. Considering how Lance was still holding onto Allura's body like a child clinging to its mother, Keithek had to admit he felt didn't like Allura much at the moment either.

"Keithek," he said, pulling his hands back and glaring at Lance. "I saved that idiot's life."

"Why?" Pidge chimed in. "I mean no offense, but you're a Galra."

"Halfbreed, actually," the Champion corrected.

"What's that got to do with anything?" Pidge asked, honestly confused.

"As Coran said, the Galra are purists," the Champion explained. "A halfbreed would be seen as a blot on their otherwise perfect race."

"Purple space Nazis," Pidge said, nodding as if that explained everything. "Gotcha."

"Glad I'm not the only one who's been thinking that," Hunk muttered.

"How did you come to pilot the Red Lion?" Coran asked, studying Keithek with more interest than the halfbreed preferred.

"The Galra had it," Lance said, speaking up finally. He released his hold on Allura and stepped forward. But he didn't let go of the woman's hand, Keithek noticed with disgust.

Lance didn't look at Keithek right away, choosing instead to look at the paladins as he spoke. "It's entirely possible they were scanning Khonsu looking for the Blue Lion when Hunk and I stumbled on them. Look," Lance said awkwardly, glancing back at Allura with a loving gaze that sent flames of jealous licking up Keithek's spine, "this has been a long day and I'm not exactly feeling okay."

Lance fingered his still swollen eye and Allura frowned and began fretting over him. "Don't worry," she said. "Coran and I will take care of this."

Keithek breathed a deep sigh of relief and immediately felt his legs begin to wobble. Oddly enough, his hand also began to ache. He blinked and stared down at his hand like it was going to bite him. It was black and blue and swollen. Keithek's eyes widened in shock.

"Ow," he said in surprise.

At his accidental exclamation of pain, Lance instantly focused his attention on Keithek. His one eye bulged when he saw the state of Keithek's hand. "What- What did you do to yourself?" he cried. " _When_ did you do this to yourself? _How_ did you do this to yourself?" he demanded.

"I…I don't know?" Keithek muttered in surprise. "I didn't even notice it until now."

"Adrenaline," Pidge said suddenly.

"Pidge is right," the Champion said, nodding in agreement. "You probably didn't feel it until now because you've been running on adrenaline. Honestly, I'd be surprised if both of you weren't running on _just_ adrenaline right about now."

Lance blinked and looked up at Keithek in shock. "Adrenaline," he mumbled. "Right." He wobbled. "What the quiznack?" he breathed.

Keithek just shook his head and shrugged helplessly. He had no idea what was happening either.

Lance nodded absently. "It's over," he murmured. "We won. I guess… We can relax now." He nodded again and promptly collapsed limply in Keithek's arms.

The red paladin staggered under the unexpected weight. "Frak," he grunted. "You're heavy."


	16. 16: Pyretic Tempers

**A/N:** I did say Allura's temper was big enough to deserve a full chapter? I lied. It's big enough to deserve TWO full chapters. This is just the first part. I don't care what anyone says. Allura is a BAMF. Especially in the next chapter. I freakin' love this lady. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which there's no fight like a sibling fight, especially when its unsuspecting participants have an audience. **  
**

* * *

 **16: Pyretic Tempers**

When Lance collapsed, Allura hurried to his side and helped the red paladin hold him up. "Are you alright?" she asked.

Lance nodded weakly. "Yeah, I'm just," he hesitated, searching for the right word, "relieved. And I am not heavy."

Keithek rolled his eyes. He glared at the princess and hauled Lance up so the prince was leaning heavily on his shoulder without Allura's help.

"We need to get you to a healing pod," Coran said, bustling forward to take the prince from Keithek's arms. Surprisingly, the red paladin hissed and turned so that he stood between Coran and Lance. Startled by the move, Coran hesitated.

"I'll take him," Keithek said calmly. "Lead the way."

"Alri-"

"No!" Lance cried suddenly, struggling to stand straight on his own. He staggered but caught himself before the red paladin could catch him. "No," he said more calmly. "I'm fine. I'll just rest for a bit."

"We need to be sure your wounds aren't serious," Allura said in a tone that brokered no argument. "You too Keithek."

"Call him Keith," Lance said with a tired grin.

"Keith then," Allura said with a graceful nod.

"Hey!" Keithek said.

"I don't need a pod," Lance reiterated seriously. "I'm fine."

"You have a black eye," Allura said in the same tone.

"It's not bad."

"It's swollen shut."

"It'll heal."

"You also have a cut on your neck."

Lance tensed, his hand twitching in an aborted movement. "It's not deep. Just a nick."

"You're delirious."

Lance bristled. "I'm fine," he insisted, beginning to sound annoyed.

"You need to be seen too," Allura said, folding her hands primly in front of her and maintaining a calm, cool façade. "So does Keith. His hand could very well be broken."

"Then set the wound and let him use the healing pod," Lance said, gesturing to the red paladin in frustration. "A broken hand is more serious than a black eye."

"Lance-"

"Allura-"

"If I may," Coran intruded, speaking loudly to be heard over the royal siblings' argument. He stepped between them and placed a hand on their shoulders in a placating manner. "Why don't we move this inside. It's getting dark out here and I think everyone deserves a good, hearty meal after so much excitement."

He flashed a smile at the other paladins easing them from their discomfort from witnessing the prince and princess arguing. "All of you go get cleaned up while I cook us a nice, tasty meal," Coran continued. "We'll all sleep with full bellies tonight, hm?"

The advisor waited with baited breath for several ticks before Lance's shoulder began to droop. When the prince gave way, Allura soon followed.

"Very well," the princess said. "I'll show all of you to your rooms. Feel free to make use of the facilities there. I'll join all of you at dinner."

"Yes," Coran said, waving his hand and starting to walk out of the Lions' main hanger and into the Castle itself. "Take your time. I'll need time to whip up something fantastic after all."

"Yeah," Hunk said, a small smile tugging at his lips. "A shower does sound good right about now."

"Wait," Keith said. "What about the refugees we brought with us earlier? Where are they?"

"Oh don't worry," Coran said, waving away the red paladin's concern. "They're all sleeping soundly in the healing pods. Some of their injuries were old so there's not much we can do except make them comfortable, but the newer wounds should heal sufficiently. Either way, they should be ready to be taken to the nearest trade outpost after a brief checkup when they wake."

"If they wake," Lance muttered.

Coran chose to ignore than comment and continuing moving forward with a bright smile on his face. He was proud to say he held that smile in place the whole time while Allura showed each paladin to their personal quarters in the Castle. The red paladin was the last to be escorted to his quarters before the royal siblings could go to their own rooms.

Curiously, Keith hesitated before going into his new rooms. His unusual eyes stared directly at Lance with an unreadable expression for several ticks, his ears perked and twitching curiously. Lance gave a minute shake of his head to which Keith nodded and entered his room without a word, the door hissing shut behind him. Well, well. There was definitely a story there. Coran always did love a good story.

Unfortunately, he would have to wait a bit for that. The moment the red paladin entered his room, the atmosphere in the hallway immediately became cold and prickly. It was no secret where the sudden change in mood originated from. A quick glance at the two royal siblings was proof enough of that. Nevertheless, Coran dutifully followed Lance and Allura to their respective rooms.

They stopped at Lance's chambers first. But when the prince entered his room, Allura pushed past Coran and walked into the room as well. Coran heard Lance give an offended cry before Allura shut the door behind her and locked it, effectively locking her and her brother alone in the room.

"What do you want Allura?" Lance's voice, muffled by the locked door, filtered out to Coran's eager ears.

"What was that?" Allura demanded.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play that game with me," the princess snapped. "You have a lot of explaining to do."

"Can I at least do it _after_ I take a shower?"

"No," Allura said. "You'll tell me now."

"You're not the boss of me," Lance countered, sounding slightly offended. "You can't tell me what to do."

"I'm the oldest royal heir-"

"The oldest still alive," Lance quipped.

Even Coran winced at that particular barb. He shamelessly crouched by the door and pressed his ear to the metal so he could better hear what was being said. He was the royal advisor, after all. How could he properly advise if he didn't know all of the inner workings of the Castle and its inhabitants?

* * *

"That was uncalled for," Allura said coldly. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she stood stiffly, unyielding to her brother verbal assault. "That was neither of our faults."

"Yeah, that you know of," Lance said.

"That I-" Allura stared at her brother incredulously. "Lance that was an act of war perpetrated by the Galra. I should know, I was there."

"Yeah, well _so was I_ ," Lance countered, glaring at his older sister. "That's not even the tip of the iceberg, Allura. You don't know anything and yet here you are, standing there like you own the place-"

"I _do_ own the place," Allura said firmly.

Lance pointed to her viciously. "That- That's just it. You _think_ you do but you _don't."_ He laughed incredulously. "You may be the Heir but I'm the Sentinel. I have just as much authority as you do. In some areas I have _more_ authority than you do."

"Says who?" Allura demanded.

"Says Father," Lance shot back. "Says the people of Altea when they voted you as the next Heir and me as the next Sentinel. Says tradition. Says _everything_ I've been raised to believe." He took a deep breath and bit his tongue to stop his furious tirade. "You are _not_ above me."

"And you're not above me," the princess countered.

"No, you're right, I'm not," Lance agreed. "And I never once pretended to be."

"You pushed me into a cryopod!"

"Because Father ordered me to!" Lance yelled. "He _ordered_ me to. I did exactly as I was told. Then he threw me in one and the next thing I know, I'm in this fraking future-"

"Language, Lance."

Lance fumed, wrapping his hands in tight fists. "Oh, will you shut your quiznack!"

"You're not the only one suffering here, Lance," Allura said sternly.

"I know that. I'm not stupid."

"Then stop acting like it."

"Loo- You know? No. No, no, no. Frak you." He stomped right up to his sister and held a finger in her face and felt intense frustration when she didn't even flinch. "I get captured by the Galra, find the red paladin _and_ the missing Red Lion which _you couldn't find_ , and then I miraculously escape, help form Voltron -fraking _Voltron!_ \- and you're _mad_ at me."

"I'm not mad at you," the princess said, still somehow keeping her calm.

Lance threw his hands up in the air. "Yes you _are!_ Fine, fine. You know what? Alright. I'll play your game. You're not mad at me. But you _are_ mad at Keith. Don't think I didn't miss your little tell," he warned with a sharp glare. "You were judging Keith from the moment you saw him."

"So were the other paladins."

"I'm not _talking_ about the other paladins," Lance scream furiously. "I'm talking about _you_. You're the princess, the Heir, the diplomat, the ambassador, the peacemaker. You're the _last_ person who should be judging someone else based on something they can't help. Especially something as superfluous as their appearance. Alteans are the absolute _last_ ones to be judging another race for their appearance. We change ours regularly."

Allura rolled her shoulders and tipped her head forwards, the only sign Lance's words were getting through. "Shiro reacted badly too."

"He has an excuse," Lance countered. "He was held captive by the Galra for at least a year. Whatever he experienced was bad enough for him to lock away his memories of the whole ordeal. He admitted to fighting in an arena, Allura. Did you hear that part? He fought in an _arena_ like a wild animal."

"I _did_ hear that," Allura said, anger finally breaking through her immaculate mask. "But I also have legitimate excuse to be judgmental here."

"Oh really?" Lance drawled. "Then pray tell, princess. What's your oh-so-worthy excuse?"

Allura glared furiously at her brother. "I was there when Zarkon betrayed us. I was there when the Great War began. I was _there_ when we got word of the attack on Altea. I have _just_ as much excuse to judge as Shiro," she said, uncrossing her arms. "I have an even _better_ excuse."

"Oh for- This isn't a competition Allura," Lance groaned, turning away from his sister and stalking towards his bed.

"Oh no?" the princess said, finally showing her anger. "Then _what_ is it then? You're behaving like a child."

" _I'm_ behaving like a child?" Lance gasped, turning back to his sister with a hand over his chest. "I'm not the one judging another person based on their race. _Half_ a race, actually. We don't even know what his other half is. That- That doesn't even matter," he said, holding up his hands to stave off that particular line of argument. "What _does_ matter is that you're acting extremely childish in a time when you shouldn't be."

"I am not!"

"I'm sorry to break it to you here, but yes, you are," Lance said, meeting his sister glare for glare. "I get back with the red paladin and the missing Red Lion, the _same_ red paladin and Red Lion that formed Voltron not five tecks ago, and you're already against him joining us. Based on what? His skin color? His ears? His eyes? What? If it's not his race, then what is it? Why don't you like him, Allura? Please," he crossed his arms, "enlighten me."

"I…" Allura bit her lip guiltily. She forced herself to take a deep breath and examine her feelings to both calm herself and focus her thoughts. "Alright," she admitted carefully. "I admit I was a bit…hasty at judging him, and for that I _am_ sorry."

Lance nodded but didn't relax his stance.

"But you still left."

"What?" Lance asked, now thoroughly confused.

"You _left._ "

Thrown, Lance thought back to events over the past few cycles -periods?- trying to figure out what Allura was referring to. "You mean when Hunk and I went to find the Blue Lion?" he asked incredulously.

"You were supposed to find the Blue Lion and come back," Allura said, fisting her hands and holding herself as stiff as a board. "But you _didn't._ "

"Yes, I did," Lance said, still unable to believe what he was hearing. "I'm here now, aren't I?"

"Not when Hunk and Pidge went back to get you, you weren't," Allura said fiercely. "I thought you were _gone._ I thought I'd _lost_ you! For _good_ this time."

Lance wilted as he finally began to understand what had sparked this whole mess to begin with. "Allura…"

"No," the princess said sharply, cutting him off. "No. Don't 'Allura' me. I'm not alright and neither are you. I thought the Galra had captured you and I'd never see you again. I just lost my planet, my race, my," she choked on a sob, "my father…" Tears began streaming down her face as Lance watched in helpless disbelief. "And now I was going to lose you too."

"But you didn't lose me," Lance said, stepping closer to his sister to gently grasp her arms. "I'm back now. I never meant to leave in the first place. Believe me, I would much rather have come back without any trouble at all. But…" he sighed. "But if that hadn't happened, if I hadn't been captured, then the Red Lion would still be under Galra control and the red paladin would probably never have been found."

Allura nodded. "I know," she said. "I _know_ but-"

"It doesn't make it better," Lance finished.

"No it doesn't," Allura yelled in frustration. "And now you won't even get into a healing pod to take care of your wounds."

"They're minor," Lance said, rolling his eyes. "It's just a swollen eye, a tiny cut, and a few bruises. Keith's hand is broken. He needs the pod more than I do."

"You _both_ need healing pods," the princess insisted. "Why won't you just let it heal you? It shouldn't take longer than a few tecks at most."

Lance pursed his lips and avoided his sister's pleading gaze. "I just don't want to," he said.

"Not good enough," Allura said, crossing her arms. For a moment, Lance saw their father in her and a heavy sadness pressed against his chest.

"Too bad," he said, his voice curt from the unexpected wave of emotion.

"No, not 'too bad,'" Allura said. "Tell me. Why won't you get in the healing pod? Clearly it's not the time since this wouldn't take more than a few tecks. You've never been afraid of enclosed spaces before. So what is it?"

Lance glared at his sister before looking out his bedroom's window at the almost set sun overlooking the vast ocean of Arus. He was really getting sick and tired of oceans.

"Lance," Allura said. "Tell me, please. Why won't you just-"

"How do you know I'll wake up?" Lance snapped, facing his sister directly.

The princess looked taken aback. "What? Of course you'll wake up," she said.

"Really?" Lance pressed. "Can you guarantee that?" He shook his head. "Okay, you know what, let's say you're right. Let's say I do wake up. Can you guarantee it'll be in a few tecks? How do you know it won't be a full period or a thousand periods or even a million periods from now? How do I know I'll wake up and you'll still be here?" He poked his sister's collar bone with his finger and said forcefully, "Can you guarantee I won't be alone if, and that's a _big_ 'if' by the way, I wake up, I won't be alone?" He was panting now. "Can you _promise_ me I won't be alone?" he demanded. "Can you _promise_ me?"

Allura eyes were wide and watery. The siblings had studiously avoided talking about their long slumber in anything but the most abstract of ways since they woke up because they had other things to worry about. They were good reasons that needed their attention; but neither sibling realized how deep their long sleep had affected them until now.

Allura shook her head and Lance's gaze dropped.

"I can promise you," Allura said, drawing her brother's gaze back up to hers. "Because if you don't wake up on your own after a full cycle and I can't wake you up by force," she swallowed and stared her brother down bravely, "then I'll join you."

Lance's eyes filled with tears.

"I'll join you and have Coran mirror our pods," she said. "If you wake up, I'll wake up. If you die," she sniffed and shook her head, wrapping her arms around herself in self-comforting gesture, "then I'll die. I will _not_ be alone. I won't let you be alone either. We're in this together, Lance. That's a promise."

Hot tears left burning trails down Lance's cheeks at his sister's words. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Allura and held her while they both cried.

* * *

There were very few times Coran felt guilty for eavesdropping on conversations. Up until now, he'd been absolutely fine listening in on his two wards argue and scream at each other. But now it was time for him and his fellow eavesdroppers who had joined him sporadically through the argument to go.

He stood and straightened his uniform. "Alright everyone," he said just softly enough so the overwrought siblings inside the room wouldn't hear him, "show's over. Off to the showers with you."

"Aw," Pidge grumbled, crawling up from his crouch by the door. "It was just getting good too."

"I still can't believe I let you talk me into this," Hunk whined, following the green paladin back down the hall to their respective rooms.

"Will they be alright?" the black paladin asked with open concern.

"Hm? Oh yes, they will in a bit," Coran said with a fond smile. "If you think this fight was bad, you have no idea what it was like back on Altea. Those two were often at each other's throats. They just got mature about it, I guess. If you call screaming at each other and not pulling each other's hair mature. Still," he added thoughtfully, "even though they fight and yell, they'll always be as a close as a pack of yelmors."

"Ew," Keith winced. "Gross. Yelmor's are disgusting."

"What?" Coran gasped, as if he was actually offended. "How can you say that? Yelmors are such gentle, noble creatures."

Keith stuck out his tongue and gagged. "They taste _awful_."

Coran's eyes bulged. "You _eat_ them?!" He quickly slapped his hands over his mouth and listened carefully. Thankfully the siblings were still making up in Lance's room, oblivious to them all. "You _eat_ them?" he repeated in a heated whisper.

Keith just shrugged. "What? It was cold and I was hungry. Besides, it was meat. Who am I to turn down a good piece of free food?"

Shiro chuckled. "As a former college student, I can second that opinion. Night you two," he said waving. "See you at dinner."

Coran sputtered as he watched Shiro leave, then huffed and coiffed his bushy mustache in indignation. He looked at Keith who was still standing awkwardly by Lance's door. "Well, what are you waiting for? Off with you. Shoo, shoo," he said, waving the halfbreed away from the prince's door and back down the hall.

Keith hesitated, still looking at the prince's door with an emotion Coran hadn't seen in a long time. He paused and studied the halfbreed's face closely, following the violet gaze to Lance's door, and back to Keith. He hummed thoughtfully.

"Jealousy isn't necessarily becoming, you know," he said.

Keith jumped back from the advisor in shock. "What?!"

Coran slapped a hand over Keith's mouth and place a single finger over his own indicating the halfbreed should keep his voice down.

"What!?" Keith repeated quietly.

"I said, jealousy isn't necessarily becoming, you know," Coran said calmly. He winked. "You'll need patience and endurance for those two," he continued. "Whichever one you seem interested in. Although," he added almost as an afterthought, "if you do decide to make a move, I'd fear the other one, if I were you. They may be royalty, but they are also quite deadly. Space is a vast space of darkness and void. Plenty of places to hide a body."

Keith was left standing alone by Lance's bedroom door wondering for the umpteenth time that cycle if mating Lance had really been a good idea.


	17. 17: Boiling Point

**A/N:** And now the Mate reveal. Allura is a BAMF. Do. NOT. Cross. Her. Lance is her baby brother. She gives the shovel talk of all shovel talks. Fear her Keith. Fear her.

 **IMPORTANT!**  
 **I'm seriously considering ending this fic after the 18th chapter and continuing this AU in another fic which I'll connect to this in a series. But I want your input. What do y'all think I should do?**

 **A)** End this fic with chapter 18 and continue the AU in another story connected to this one as part of a series?

or

 **B)** Keep this story going in this one fic but as a "Part 2" if you will?

Let me know which one you prefer in your comments so I can do what makes y'all happy. I'll be continuing this either way. I'm just curious as to how y'all would prefer I continue it. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which the siblings bond post-fight, tickling is a great way to drop barriers and learn secrets, Allura is super protective of her baby brother and has a temper that should be feared, and Pidge gets even more curse words. Pidge approves. **  
**

* * *

 **17: Boiling Point**

Sometime after Allura had cried herself out, she and Lance had moved to the prince's bed. Lance lay across the mattress's width with his legs dangling loosely over the side. Allura lay perpendicular to Lance with her head on her brother's chest. Both siblings lay on their backs staring at the ceiling. One of Lance's hands rested on his sister's hair and the other held Allura's hand.

"I'm sorry," he said eventually. "I didn't mean to make you think I wasn't coming back."

Allura sighed. "I know you didn't," she said softly. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"It's a long story," Lance warned.

Allura flopped her free hand over her stomach and hummed. "Are you really in a rush to eat Coran's latest masterpiece?"

Lance grimaced comically. "Not…really."

His sister snorted. "I won't tell if you won't," she said giggling.

"I'm the soul of discretion."

Allura jabbed her elbow in Lance's side, snickering when he coughed and whined. "If you're the soul of discretion then we're all doomed."

"Love you too, sis," Lance said wryly.

A teck or so after they'd calmed back down, Allura felt a worried frown worm its way onto her face. "Lance, please," she said. "What happened?"

Lance took a deep breath and sighed. "A lot actually," he said slowly. "I was caught in the battleship's tractor beam while I was in the water."

"So their technology has mastered that inhibition too," the princess said wearily.

"I wasn't too far underwater," Lance said. "It's possible, the beam still has its limits. Maybe if I'd been deeper underwater, it wouldn't have caught me."

"But it did," Allura said. "Where did they take you?"

"The main bridge," Lance said, his fingers starting to undo his sister's long white hair from its bun. "They may have taken me somewhere else first, but I was unconscious at the time. The commander of the cruiser was called Sendak and he answered directly to Zarkon."

Allura swallowed thickly. "Is it… Was it really him? Or-"

"It was him," Lance said grimly. "He called me by name."

"He spoke to you?" Allura asked.

"Yeah."

The princess felt her brother shift under her head and didn't press for him to continue. He'd talk when he was ready.

"He asked about you," Lance said softly.

Allura squeezed her brother's hand tighter.

"He killed Tayla," Lance continued, squeezing his sister's hand in return. "He tortured her and found out Father tied the Lions to the Heir's life force."

Allura closed her eyes feeling them water. "May the Lions protect her," she murmured.

"May the fields beyond welcome her," Lance finished the old, traditional Altean prayer. He took a deep breath and continued his story. "He- Zarkon- He inferred you were dead and the Lions were tied to me."

"What?" Allura eyes flew open and she rolled over, pushing herself up on her forearms to stare at her brother. "Lance, what did you do?"

Her brother flushed and avoided her gaze. "Nothing, actually," he admitted. His one blue eye flickered to hers and back to the side nervously. "I was too scared to talk at first. But…" He licked his chapped lips. "Sendak was pulling my hair and it hurt and I was scared and… Zarkon saw me cry when he asked about you and thought I was implying you were dead. So he thinks the Lions are tied to me."

Allura stared at her brother in shock, trying to consider all of the ramifications of what this information meant. "That's why you told Coran I was dead," she said in understanding.

Lance nodded. "Open channels are too risky to talk to you directly," he said. "Private channels tend to be more secure, but encrypted channels are the best. As long as Zarkon thinks you're dead, we have a secret weapon."

"We have Voltron now," Allura said. "We don't need a secret weapon."

"But we do," Lance insisted, sitting up and pulling his legs up to rest his forearms on his knees. "We do, Allura. We're severely outnumbered here. Think about it. While we slept, the Galra had 10,000 years to improve their technology and weaponry, improve their battle tactics, grow their empire, solidify their hold on the universal society and trade, _and_ they have the backing of the Druids."

"The Druids sided with _them?"_ Allura gasped.

Lance nodded, tilting his head slightly. "Maybe not all of them, but Keith seemed to think they were all loyal to Zarkon. I think it would be safe to assume all of the Druids are loyal to Zarkon unless we have proof otherwise."

Allura nodded slowly, not liking this new information. "About Keith," she said. "How did you meet him?"

"He was assigned to take care of me, believe it or not," Lance said. He shook his head with a wry smile. "There really are times when I just wonder if I'm still on the edges of a lingering juniberry dream."

His sister snickered. "You always were amusing when you drank juniberry juice," she teased.

"Yes, well, I had a higher tolerance than some people," Lance said, looking away from Allura. "No names."

Allura smacked him playfully. "Anyway," she said, "You were saying? He was assigned to you? How did you convince him to help you escape?"

Lance hesitated, color slowly darkened his cheeks. "I may have flirted…a little bit." When he glanced back at his sister, he winced and smiled awkwardly at her formidable flat stare. "He has cute ears," he said helplessly. "Besides, he's an alpha," he said seriously. "The Galra are purists. The fact there was a halfbreed on that ship at all, moving freely, _and_ he's an alpha…" He tilted his head. "I thought I could use that." He shrugged and waved his hand in helpless confusion. "I flirted for fun at first," he admitted. "But he was reacting, particularly when I submitted to him, so I decided to-"

"You submitted to him?" Allura said, eyeing her brother astutely.

"I bared my throat to him," Lance clarified. He huffed a laugh. "When I did that, he became…very…suggestible."

"I'm sure he did," Allura said, lifting an ironic eyebrow at her brother.

Lance shifted so his legs crossed in front of him and he braced his hands on his ankles, avoiding Allura's gaze. "I convinced him to escape by promising him equality and freedom," he said finally. "Before that, Sendak came to, ah, interrogate me," Allura's gaze narrowed in fury, "and Keith showed up a little afterwards. He thought Sendak had made me submit."

"Did he?" Allura asked gently, a sharp contrast to her burning gaze.

Lance shook his head. "I spit in his face," he said proudly. "I did the same to Zarkon when I saw him."

Allura smiled in a way that made Lance simultaneously proud and terrified.

"Anyway," Lance said, looking away from his sister's disturbing smile, "Keith commanded me not to submit to anyone but him."

"That was a bit forward of him," Allura said, pulling his legs up over the blanket so they rested next to her comfortably. Lance cleared his throat and avoided her gaze and the princess stared at her brother sharply. "Lance, what aren't you telling me?"

Lance gave a half shrug. "I asked Keith to leave with me and he agreed," Lance said instead of answering his sister's question.

"Lance?"

"We freed the prisoners and got them off the battlecruiser in escape pods, but the ship made the jump to slipstream before we could get out," Lance continued. "So we had to find a place to hide and wait until we got out of slipstream before trying another escape."

"Lance."

"That's when Keith asked me if any of the Lions his commander, Sendak, had been looking for were red." Lance shrank under his sister's growing annoyance but kept talking to alleviate his discomfort. "I said yes and Keith took me to the Red Lion. We couldn't get it to activate so we were just going to hide when the Galra found us. We hid and Keith depressurized the hanger."

"La- He _depressurized_ the hanger?" Allura cried. "While in _slipstream?"_

"Yeah," Lance said, laughing at the shocking memory. "I still can't believe he did that. Although, the alternative was just as bad."

"What alternative?" Allura demanded.

"Be captured and very likely tortured or, definitely in Keith's case, killed horribly," Lance said holding up one hand, "or depressurize the hanger and hope the drones all flew out and close the hanger door in time to hide and get away," he added, holding up his other hand.

"Why do I get the feeling the hanger door wasn't closed?" Allura said suspiciously.

Lance slumped in defeat. "It wasn't," he said. "Keith held onto me to keep me from flying out into space, but he couldn't hit the button to close the doors. Something hit his hand and-" He sat up suddenly. "Quiznack, _that's_ when he broke his hand."

Allura snapped her fingers in front of LAnce's face to drag her brother's focus back to the subject at hand. "Something hit his hand and…" she encouraged, gesturing for Lance to continue.

"Something hit his hand and we…sort of…flew out."

Allura stared at him. "You flew out," she said flatly.

Lance shrugged like a guilty child and nodded weakly.

"You flew out into space, _while_ the ship was at slipstream, and you're _shrugging?!"_ Allura exclaimed. She smacked her brother over the back of the head.

"Ow! What was that for?" Lance gasped, rubbing his head gingerly.

"You could have died!" Allura said forcefully. "You _should_ have died."

"Oh, geez, thanks for your vote of confidence," Lance drawled, mildly annoyed.

"Lance, this is serious."

"I know!" Lance shouted. He immediately regretted shouting when Allura backed away and bit her lip. She was just worried and confused and cared for her brother. "I know," he said more gently. "You're right. We should have died. We were going to hit the edge of the slipstream and be ripped apart. We _were_. But we didn't. The Red Lion saved us. She probably sensed her paladin in danger and went to save him _._ I probably wouldn't have survived if Keith hadn't pulled me close and-"

He stopped himself abruptly and felt his face burn. He glanced at his sister and knew she had seen his sudden change in demeanor and was now going to push until he got a satisfactory answer for her curiosity. He pulled his legs up to his chest and ducked his head between his knees to hid his blush. Quiznack, why wouldn't his blush go _away?_

"Lance?" Allura said, flicking her brother's pointed ear teasingly. "What were you going to say? If Keith hadn't pulled you close and what? What did he do?"

Lance shook his head without lifting his face from his knees and Allura huffed. Fortunately, because Lance had folded himself up like this, he'd left his sides completely open and defenseless. She grinned and pounced.

Lance gave a high-pitched shriek and flailed, trying to bat his sister's tickling hands from his sensitive sides. He rolled over onto his stomach and tried to crawl across the bed to escape her but she flopped down on top of him, using her weight to hold him down while she continued to mercilessly assault his sides.

"Mercy!" Lance pleaded desperately between gasping for breath. "Mercy- AH!"

Allura just smirked and blew on her brother's ear earning her a gratifying squeal. Lance squirmed over the blankets to get away but between the friction of the fabric and his sister's tickling hands, his shirt stretched down and his collar flared out. Allura's laughter began to fade when she noticed the darkening bruises lining Lance's throat. She stopped her assault to brush a finger along the ring of bruised skin.

"Did Sendak do this?" she asked.

Lance's laughter stopped when he felt his sister's delicate touch on his neck. It wasn't threatening or uncomfortable, just tender and full of concern. His chest ached from more than just the usual cramps from a tickle attack. He heaved a sigh and relaxed face down on the mattress. He didn't need to answer. Allura already knew.

Lance turned his head to the right so his neck was in a more comfortable position and he could breathe more easily. However, it was his right eye that was swollen effectively blinding him on that side. So he missed when his sister noticed another bruise further down in his collar's shadow at the joint where his neck and shoulder met. He reacted too late to hide the Mark.

"What is this?" Allura said, holding her brother's collar out so the bedroom's light could show the bruised bite mark on Lance's dark skin. Lance scrambled to get up, but she jumped on top of him, knocking the air out of him and pulled his collar out even further so it pressed uncomfortably against his neck.

"What," she said slowly, anger seeping into her voice, "is _this?"_

Lance dug his finger between his collar and his throat freeing up enough of his windpipe to cough. "Um, nothing?"

Allura said nothing and that was terrifying. Lance regretted lying with his blind eye facing up; he couldn't see anything. He couldn't gauge his sister's reaction by her face. He couldn't do anything except try to breathe. He was so quiznacked.

"That fraking son of a Magog."

Lance's mouth dropped open in shock. "Did you just…? Did you just curse?" he gasped.

Suddenly, Allura's pinning weight was gone and Lance lifted his head and twisted his body so he could stare at his sister in disbelief.

She was walking to the door.

"Wai-" He scrambled to get up and stop his sister, but he got caught and tangled in the blankets. He twisted to try to free himself but ended up falling off the side of the bed and landing on the floor with a solid thud. "Wait!"

He finally managed to untangle his legs and quickly got to his feet, slipping on the blankets on the smooth metal floor as he ran out of the room after his sister. Allura was already down the hall, pounding the security override code to get into the red paladin's chambers.

"Allura, wait!"

The red paladin's door hissed open and Allura stepped in without even acknowledging her brother. Lance slid to a stop, wedging himself in the doorway just as the door began to slid shut. When the door sensed the resistance provided by Lance's body, it slid open once more and the prince burst into the room. He never noticed the curious onlookers coming out of their respective quarters, drawn by the royal ruckus.

"Wait. Allura!"

Lance skidded to a stop when he saw Keith standing alone in the middle of his room with his dark hair mussed and dripping wet, his ears alert but weighed down by water, and only wearing a towel around his waist. Oh, quiznack.

Keith blinked, stunned by the unexpected intrusion. "What the frell-?"

"You," Allura snarled viciously, advancing on the red paladin. Her fury was so palpable it intimidated even Lance. Her long, white hair framed her angelic face with the threatening aura of a tempest on the Altean sea. She shone in all her terrible beauty with the powerful heat of a supernova. Nothing would stand against her fury; not now, not ever.

"'Llura," Lance called, reaching out to his sister with a frantic, pleading expression.

"How _dare_ you!" Allura raged.

"It's not that bad, really," Lance pleaded.

"What's not so bad?" Pidge asked, startling a high-pitched shriek from the prince. "Woah," the green paladin said, adjusting his glasses in surprise. "I didn't you could do that."

"What's going on?" Hunk asked, stepping behind Pidge and taking in the tableau with cautious interest.

"I- It's nothing, I swear," Lance said quickly, waving his hands frantically. "Nothing to see hear. You can go. You can all go now."

"You _Marked_ my brother," the princess raged at the stunned red paladin.

Lance wilted, covering his face with his hands and sinking to his knees. How utterly humiliating.

"Marked?" Pidged asked, curiously.

"Marked?" Hunk parroted in surprise.

"Oh, hi Shiro," Pidge said, waving to the black paladin who joined their group. "Allura's mad."

"Yeah," Shiro said, taking in the scene quickly and not really sure what to make of it. "I can see that."

"You _Marked_ by _brother_ you fraking son of a Magog!" Allura screamed in untamed fury.

"Marked… He _what?"_ Shiro gasped, staring at the prince's wilted form in astonishment.

"Wait," Keith said, finally speaking up. He seemed wholly unbothered by the fact that a very angry, very protective Altean princess was encroaching on his personal space in an obvious challenge. Instead, he seemed too busy trying to focus on something else.

"Brother?" Keith said. His face was the epitome of disbelief. "He's your _brother?_ "

"Seriously?" Pidge asked, propping his hands on his waist. "That's what you got out of that?

"You're his _brother?_ " Keith demanded, staring at Lance and pointing at Allura.

Lance just sighed. This was not how this whole thing was supposed to go.

"You Marked my brother," Allura said, standing with her weight cocked on one his and crossed her arms defiantly. "You'd better be frelling _terrified_ we're related."

Lance groaned loudly. "In our defense," he said loudly, "we were 99.99% sure we were going to be ripped apart by the slipstream when we flew out of the hanger."

"Slipstream?" Shiro gasped. "You ejected from a Galra ship while in _slipstream?"_

"Is that bad?" Hunk asked innocently.

"The Red Lion saved us," Lance whined.

"Because I Marked him," Keith said.

"You could have just pulled him close," Allura argued.

"We were flying through space into a _slipstream!"_ Lance cried. "It's not like we had time to plan this."

"That's just makes this worse!" Allura exclaimed, whirling on her brother. "Why are you okay with this?"

"Oh quiznack," Lance moaned. "Just… Just stop. Let me curl up somewhere and disappear for a tock, or a cycle, or a period, or three cycles. Yeah, three periods."

"Oh no you don't," the princess said, snagging by the collar as her brother stood to slip out of the mess. "You are in so much trouble. And _you,"_ she said, turning back to a still half naked Keith and pointing at him menacingly, "I am _not_ finished with you. Not by a long shot. But you'll have to wait while I go escort my brother to his punishment."

"You can't do-"

"I can and I will," Allura said over her brother's protest. "Into the cryopod you go, baby brother."

"Wha- No!" Lance cried, fighting to escape his sister's strong grip.

"Hey!" Keith cried, racing towards Lance and Allura.

"You will stay here," Allura commanded the halfbreed. To everyone's surprise, Keith stilled and did not move from his spot, his ears pinned firmly to his head, and his eyes blown wide.

"Okay," he said meekly.

"The rest of," Allura said with a deceptive calm as she turned to her impromptu audience, "I believe Coran is expecting all of you for dinner. I'm afraid Lance won't be joining us this evening."

"'Llura please do-"

"Shut your quiznack, brother," Allura ordered her brother who immediately clamped his mouth shut.

"Shiro," the princess said calmly. "If you could help me escort my brother to the cryopods, please. Pidge, Hunk, I'll see you both at dinner shortly. Keith," she said, the burning heat returning to her eyes and the anger returning to her voice, "I expect you there too. Dinner should be in ten tecks. Be there on time or I'll be forced to do something I might regret."

Lance whimpered and Keith just nodded, ears still pinned to his head and eyes wide. The red paladin gulped. Allura sighed and shook herself, smiling sweetly at Shiro. "Lead the way please, Shiro," she said.

Shiro just nodded and obediently led the princess from Keith's quarters out into the hallway. Hunk and Pidge watched the proceedings with awe. Hunk was mildly terrified but Pidge actually looked impressed. The green paladin smirked.

"I like her," he said in a pleased tone.

"Remind me never to cross her," Hunk said, placing a hand on Pidge's shoulder that was more for his benefit than his shorter companion's.

"Frak," Keith murmured just loud enough for the other paladins to hear. He still stood rooted to the spot where Allura ordered him to stay. "What the frell have I done?" he whimpered. "She's… She's a fraking _alpha!"_

"Ooh, more curse words," Pidge crooned. "Nice."


	18. 18: Ignited Doubt

**A/N:** So the comment results from the poll are in.

 ***A** (End the fic and start a series) **\- 7 votes**

 ***B** (Continue this fic with Story Arc/Part 2) **\- 6 votes**

 ***C** (Didn't care either way) **\- 8 votes**

That means for those reading on AO3, this fic will end and I'll continue it as a series. There WILL BE ONE **MORE CHAPTER AFTER** THIS ONE! I'll create the series and add this story to it. Then I'll add chapter 19 to this fic at the same time I post chapter 1 of the sequel in the series. The current working title for the sequel is _Chill_ and will focus on the Balmera arc and the growth of the klance relationship. This will very likely result in a jump in rating from **T** to **E** ( **M** on this site) and I'm not sure if everyone is ok with that. I'll post a warning for the chapter with explicit content, but yeah. The final title for the sequel, like with _Warmth_ , will influence the chapter titles. I'll include the link to the sequel as well as the series in the final chapter of this fic: chapter 19.

For those who read **this site,** I won't separate the work into a different work because they don't have a way to connect works in a series. So I'll just do a **PART 2** thing on there. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which dinner is awkward, Pidge has a serious question for Lance, Coran learns Earth cuss words, Lance runs from his watchdog, and the siblings survive to fight another day.

* * *

 **18: Ignited Doubt**

Dinner was a very awkward affair to be sure.

"Um, what is this?" Hunk asked, pointing at the suspiciously radioactive green goop that currently covered his plate.

"It's a proper, nutritious Altean meal," Coran declared proudly. "It's got lots of the vitamins and nutrition you young paladins will need for what's ahead."

"I'm not sure I like what you're implying," Hunk said, feeling a growing sense of dread settle in the pit of his stomach.

"Tomorrow you'll start a strict training regimen," Coran said, clapping his hands in excitement. "We need to test the Castle's defenses now that we have everything up and running again. We're still not at full power unfortunately, but we'll get there." He winked and flipped his mustache. "Besides, I think Allura had plans to greet the local Arusians, if there are any that is."

"We have to train?" Pidge whined. His head thunked unceremoniously on the dining table. "I am so sleeping in tomorrow."

"It shouldn't be too hard," Shiro said with an encouraging smile. "We need to get used to fighting with our bayards."

"I don't think you need a bayard, Shiro," Pidge said astutely. "I think your arm is a weapon."

"Yeah," Hunk said around a mouthful of the food goo. "It lit up like a glow stick."

"I…" Shiro held up his mechanical arm and studied it with trepidation. "I think it is a weapon," he agreed. "I'm just not sure how to use it."

"What do you mean you don't know how to use it?" Keith said suddenly, startling everyone at the table. The halfbreed looked up and stared Shiro in the eye. "I saw you. I saw you fight in the arena. You used that thing to cut your enemies down like they were nothing. I watched you cut your challengers in half! What the frell do you mean you don't know how to use it?"

Shiro's eye grew wide in horror. The other paladins and even Coran looked slightly disturbed by Keith's declaration. The black paladin visibly shrunk in on himself, his shoulders hunching over and his eyes dropping to stare at his Galra arm like he was afraid it would suddenly activate and bite him.

"I… I'm…" Shiro sighed heavily and closed his eyes. "I don't remember," he said slowly. "Not really. I remember snatches, images, sensations, that kind of thing but nothing useful." He opened his eyes and lifted his gaze to Keith's. "I was captured while on a scientific mission to Kerberos. We had no weapons, just scientific equipment and a total of three crewmembers, myself included. I don't even know what happened to the other two of my crew."

Keith sat back and looked away. "I'm sorry," he said softly.

"Thank you," Shiro nodded gratefully. "I'm sorry I can't remember anything useful."

"It's not your fault," Hunk said while Pidge slumped in his seat. "You went through a lot. No one's expecting you to be Superman." He thought for a moment. "Except maybe you," he added after a moment.

Shiro huffed a laugh, smiling weakly at the yellow paladin. "Thanks Hunk," he said gratefully.

"Don't mention it," Hunk replied with a big smile. "We're all in this together."

"If you even _think_ about singing that song, I will fucking murder you," Pidge warned his companion with a dark glare.

Hunk laughed awkwardly and held up his hands to stave off the green paladin's terrifying glare. "I wouldn't dream of it."

Pidge lifted an eyebrow and Hunk whimpered. Satisfied with his victory, the green paladin withdrew and lifted a spork to taste his plateful of food goo. "I'd better not die of radiation poisoning from this," he muttered before stuffing a sporkful of the stuff in his mouth.

He was pleasantly surprised by the taste. It wasn't disgusting so much as it was incredibly bland. It was in dire need of salt, not to mention anything resembling flavor. Was there such a thing a space spices? Pidge was fairly certain he could take a few days of this stuff, but any longer and he would probably be sick from lack of flavor.

"I need a bag of Lays Originals," he muttered.

Hunk sighed dreamily. "I could go for that," he said. "Thanksgiving dinner though."

Pidge hummed and pointed at Hunk in enthusiastic agreement. "Yes!"

"Oh god yes," Shiro agreed whole heartedly. "A huge turkey with rosemary and herbs stuffed between the skin in the meet, roasted in the oven so the different flavors just sink into the turkey meat."

"That sound amazing," Hunk said. "But not as good as my Mom's broiled turkey. She'd stuff the innards with stuffing and oh! My mouth became heaven on earth."

"Y'all are weird," Pidge said with a grin. "We used to always have ham for Thanksgiving. Honey maple ham sliced to perfection with green beans and bacon bits."

"Oh dear god above, bacon," Shiro moaned.

"Nectar of the gods," Hunk moaned.

Keith stared at his fellow paladins in confused concern. "That all sounds…" He tilted his head slightly. "Interesting."

"Not as interesting as you Marking Lance," Shiro said almost off-handidly, stuffing a sporkful of food goo into his mouth.

"He did _what?_ " Coran cried. He stood up and slammed his hands on the table and stared at the red paladin. "You did what?!" he shouted again.

Keith's violet eyes grew huge and his shrank into his seat. "I don't want to talk about it," he mumbled, glancing around him for the princess.

"What does that even mean?" Pidge asked. "Marked. What is that?"

"Yeah, you're all acting like it's a big deal," Hunk said, studying everyone's face closely.

"It is," Shiro said.

"You've only know each other a cycle," Coran cried. "If that. How could you do that? _Why_ would you do that to yourself? What if he rejects you?"

Keith bowed his head. "Then I guess I'll just deal with that," he said, rubbing the juncture where his neck met his left shoulder self-consciously.

"Not very well though," Coran said, sitting back down with a weary look on his face. "From my experience, rejected mates don't tend to last very long."

"Mates?" Hunk repeated. "As in 'friend' mates or 'love-you-kiss-you-have-sex-with-you' mates?"

Shiro sighed. "The latter." He glanced at Keith. "Why did you do it?"

Keith's shoulders twitched in a weak shrug. "I was interested in him," he said slowly, "he was interested in me, we were going to die…"

"So it was basically a 'fuck it, I'm doin' it, moment," Pidge said helpfully.

"Y-yeah," Keith said. "It was. Lance didn't seem to mad when he found out."

"Found out? You mean you didn't ask him first?" Hunk gasped. "You just did it? Er, what is 'it' exactly anyway?"

Keith blushed. "We were flying through space," he said defensively. "We couldn't have talked even if we wanted to. Besides, we _were_ going to die. If the Red Lion hadn't saved us, we would've been shredded by the slipstream."

"I've seen that happen before," Shiro said in the ensuing silence. He looked thoughtful as he spoke. "I don't remember the circumstances but I remember the commander of the prisoner transfer ship I was on shooting someone out of an airlock while at slipstream. It took less than ten seconds for them to hit the slipstream and tear apart like a meat shredder."

"Oh," Hunk said in a little voice. "I'm…not really hungry anymore."

"Too bad, Hunk," the princess said striding boldly into the dining room with a healed and very uncomfortable Lance by her side. She smiled at Keith. "Your turn Keith. I hope you ate something because after your done with your healing pod session, I expect you to go straight to bed. As for the rest of you, I'll see you all tomorrow for training. Coran, do have anything for Lance and I to eat?"

"Oh yes," the advisor chirped, hopping up from his chair to fill they royal siblings' plates. He never noticed Lance's face turn almost the same shade of green as the food goo. Pidge did though.

"Don't worry," the green paladin said. "It's not that bad."

Lance shuddered and turned to leave. "I'm actually not that hungry."

"Wait," Allura said and Lance froze. "Who said you could leave, Lance?"

"Uh…"

"You're staying with either me or Coran for the duration of the evening," the princess said. "Coran, please take care of my brother while I take Keith to the healing pod."

"Of course, your highness," Coran said, pulling up a chair for Lance who sank into in like he was melting.

"Keith?" Allura called patiently. "Come with me, now."

Keith instantly stood and hustled to the princess's side. With one last fearful glance at Lance, he allowed himself to follow Allura out of the dining room. The moment Keith was out of sight, Pidge leapt up, leaning over the table, so he was the prince's personal space.

"So," he said, a smug grin on his face, "is it true? Are you two mates? Like married-mates?"

Lance's face went through several shades of red before settling on a deep crimson. He looked away and pressed his lips together. This just served to boost Pidge's need to know.

"Have you fucked yet?" Pidge asked.

Hunk spit green food goo all over Shiro who froze and sat in stunned silence trying to comprehend what just happened. Lance and Coran, however, looked confused.

"Fucked?" Coran asked innocently. "What does that mean?"

Hunk began coughing violently and Shiro groaned, covering his eyes with his hands, resting his elbows on his table.

Pidge snorted. "Have either of you put your cock up the other's ass yet?" he pressed, smirking savagely.

Lance blinked and stared at Pidge with both of his eyes while Coran furrowed his brow in confusion. "Why do I get the feeling I'm missing something?" Lance asked cautiously.

"Um, I beg your parden," Coran said, but what is a 'cock' and what is an 'ass?'"

Hunk gave up eating and just dropped his head onto the table. Shiro dropped his spork and groaned. "Pidge," the black paladin begged, "for the love of my sanity and Hunk's lungs, please stop."

"A cock is a penis," Pidge said gleefully, enjoying the way Lance's face darkened, "and an ass is a butthole." Pidge snickered. "I'm asking if you've had sex yet dumbass."

"How could you _possibly_ ask me that?" Lance exclaimed. "We literally just met earlier this cycle! It _was_ this last cycle, right?" He looked to Shiro for confirmation but the black paladin was shaking his head and holding up his hands in surrender.

"I'm crashing for the night guys," Shiro said wearily. "Lance," he patted the prince's shoulder, "good luck."

"I… I'm with you," Hunk said. Quickly standing and running after Shiro.

"What?" Lance gasped. "You're abandoning me? Hunk, I thought we were bros?"

Hunk flashed his 'bro' a sheepish smile. "Sorry man," he said. "I already had my birds and the bees talk."

"Bir… What?" Lance was about to stand and chase his friend down only to find himself face-to-face with a still grinning Pidge.

"You never answered my question," Pidge said. "Are you two fucking or not?"

Lance flushed but drew himself up and said, "No, we are not."

"Oh." The disconcerting light in the green paladin's eyes died and he sat back down in a sulk. "Well that's boring."

"Fascinating," Coran said, stroking his mustache and studying Pidge curiously. "Are all humans so open about their sexual escapades?" he asked.

Pidge shrugged. "Some are, some aren't," he said. "We have lots of sexual orientations, sexual act preferences, gender preferences, you get the idea. Of course, not everyone is open to those ideas, but the younger generation certainly is."

Coran hummed. "Interesting," he said, considering the green paladin's words thoughtfully. "That sounds like an interesting study indeed."

Lance sighed and stood to slip out of the dining room while he had the chance.

"Not so fast, young man," Coran called.

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" he said in exasperation. "You want me?" he demanded, turning to his advisor indignantly. "Come and get old man."

Without waiting for a response, Lance turned and ran as fast as he could down the hallway. He could hear Coran calling his name and giving chase. Thankfully, despite Lance's reluctance to get into one, the healing pod had restored the prince to a healthy state and he could run at top speed. Also, Coran knew this Castle well, but Lance had grown up in it and knew all of the best hiding spots.

He turned down a dimly lit hall to a part of the Castle that wasn't used as often. He and Allura had often explored the Castle with their siblings, daring each other to climb up into the air vents or squeeze through a small window to get a better view of the silvery rings orbiting high in Altea's atmosphere. It had been just a game at the time, but those memories of mapping out the Castle as a child still stuck. Lance drew on those memories now and ducked into a small air vent near the floor and crawled up through a ventilation shaft often used for maintenance workers back when the Castle was inhabited by more than just seven people and a handful of refugees still slumbering away in cryopods. Coran never had a chance.

When Lance finally came to another air vent, he peered through the slanted metal slats into the room to orient himself. He should be near the paladin's weapons chamber. Sure enough, a quick peak into the room showed five tanks lining one of the walls, two of which were lit and still had armor in them, and a pedestal in the center of the room glowing a soft white. Lance grinned and began working the vent loose.

When he finished removing the vent, the prince crawled out onto the floor and stood, brushing the thousands of years' worth of dust off of his pants. Satisfied, he approached the tank with the blue armor and placed his hand on the glass. To his relief, the glass lifted allowing Lance access to the blue armor within that matched his Lion. He carefully removed the armor and held it up to the light.

It certainly had his father's flair for simplicity and utilitarianism. Lance had always preferred a little something more to his outfits and weaponry and everything. He wanted to put something of himself on what he considered his. Seeing the armor now, he noticed a few minute changed that had been done after Lance had…gone to sleep.

The new armor was made of a sturdier material that still gave when the user moved. It wouldn't be as stiff as the original paladins' uniforms. It was also sleeker and more streamlined. If Lance ever decided to do another space jump, he would build up less friction if he wore this armor.

Lowering the armor, Lance turned to the pedestal and placed his hand on the top. The glass slid open and the blue bayard rose up to greet him. Lance hesitated before taking hold of it. In a bright flash, the bayard had transformed into a large but light plasma gun. Relief and pride flooded the prince's senses as he studied his bayard with joy. It must have sensed the prince's desire for an accurate long-range weapon. It made something warm and soothing touch his heart and blossom in his chest.

Keith still didn't have his paladin armor or bayard. That could prove to be a problem if they had to go into a fight in a hurry. Hopefully that wouldn't happen, but in case it did Keith should at least be aware his armor and weapon were waiting for him here. Lance folded his armor over his arm and tucked his bayard which had reverted to its natural form into his belt. Instead of climbing back into the air vent, he cautiously poked his head out of the main door into the hallway.

All clear.

He slipped out and hurried off to his room to drop off his newly acquired things. Next, he was off to the cryopod chamber. It took a lot of courage to approach the room; he still wasn't sure if he would ever trust those things ever again. Nevertheless, he forced himself to step around the corner and into the room. He was mildly disappointed to find his sister standing impatiently by one of the pods. A glance at the pod revealed why: Keith was sleeping soundly in the pod Allura was glaring so intently at.

Lance sighed drawing his sister's attention.

"Lance," she said in mild surprise. "What are you doing here?" She scanned the hallway behind her brother and frowned. "Where's Coran?"

Lance shrugged. "Probably looking for me a few floors down," he said walking down the steps to the lower floor where his sister stood in the center of the room. The active cryopods formed a broken circle around the two Alteans, each one holding a healing being in it.

"I wanted Coran to watch you," Allura said, sighing and crossing her arms limply without any anger in her words. "He'll be beside himself with worry."

Lance snickered. "We should be used to this from us, though," he said, flashing his sister a sly grin.

After a moment, she returned it and they both began laughing. Allura recovered first, looking back up at the pod that held Keith in it. Her smile faded to a worried frown. "Are you really alright with this?" she asked. "Tell me honestly. I need to know if you're okay with this."

Lance pursed his lips and tucked his hands in his pockets, leaning his shoulder against his sister's fondly. "Yes," he said. "And no." He sighed and thought about his words carefully before speaking them aloud. "Yes, I'm okay with it being Keith because I know he'll never betray me. A Galra's loyalty to their mate is absolute. You and I both know the chances of a Galra choosing anything, even Zarkon, over their mate is slim."

Allura nodded but remained silent.

"No," Lance continued, "I'm not okay with it because I didn't get to choose. Then again, neither did he."

Allura gave him a look in the corner of her eye. "He chose to Mark you," she said. "That's a choice."

"That he made when we were ticks from certain death," Lance said, meeting his sister's eyes. "He didn't want to die alone. I can't fault him for that," he said, never breaking eye contact with Allura.

The princess looked away, resting her head on her brother's Marked shoulder. "This isn't right," she whispered. "We were supposed to fight. We were supposed to form Voltron during the Great War and fight. We would have won."

"You don't know that," Lance said, with no real feeling behind his words.

"No, but we don't _not_ know that either," Allura countered. "Father could have ordered the paladins to form Voltron and fight back."

"We were down a paladin," Lance said. "The black paladin…"

Neither of them finished that thought. It was just too painful.

"We survived, though," Allura said finally, dropping one of her arms and twining her fingers with her brother's.

Lance's gaze dropped to their hands and he forced a sad smile for his sister's benefit. She could never know what really happened; how he had failed, how his intel had been compromised and he'd been too late to act, how he could do nothing but watch as his siblings died in the attack that started everything.

"Yeah," he said softly. "We survived."


	19. PART 2 - 19: Chill on the Wind

**A/N:** And so it continues with Part 2~ The rating **_WILL _** upped Mature eventually, possibly sooner if Keith gets his way. Maybe Lance will even enjoy a little tease here and there. A quick session of heavy petting in a dark hallway isn't out of the question. ^_~ **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Keith is a thinker, Allura is actually a Goddess, Keith is suspicious, and Sendak plots revenge. **  
**

* * *

 *****PART 2: Chill*****

 **19: Chill on the Wind**

When Lance first convinced him to escape the Galra and run away to who-knows-where space, Keithek had doubted they would succeed. But honestly, the chance of living a life of freedom had been lucrative. Compared to a life of endless discrimination and hatred and an inevitably uncomfortable death with the Galra, what Lance offered was a shining star of hope. That faint hope had fueled Keithek's desperation to escape. Now he was living in an ancient Castle with members of a long dead race that wasn't actually dead, mated to one of them, and a member of a team of intrepid paladins piloting giant mechanical Lions that together formed the mythical Voltron. It was amazing.

Amazingly awful.

Keithek lay limply across the couch in the paladins' lounge gasping for breath and sweating profusely. He and the others had spent the past several tocks dodging weapons fire from the Castle in one of Allura's many attempts to get them to form Voltron at will. The crazy princess had raised the Castle's particle barrier, preventing them from returning to their hangers until they had formed Voltron. Thankfully, the Green Lion's paladin was the tech genius and figured out the codes to turn off the Castle's formidable defenses and lower the particle barrier. He'd taken his sweet time about it though, Keithek thought in annoyance.

He glanced over and saw Lance sprawled across the bench further down with one leg thrown carelessly over the back cushion. Lance was just as tired and strained as the rest of them. Allura had shown no favoritism towards him even though they were siblings. She made them all suffer equally. Even Pidge's new pet robot had been slightly damaged to the green paladin's endless frustration. He currently sat next to Lance's foot tinkering with his new pet

They'd all gotten a break the morning after defeating the battlecruiser to search the debris for any survivors and usable drones or technology. Pidge had insisted on it. Fortunately for the paladins, or Team Voltron as Hunk had designated their ragtag group, there were no drones or living Galra left in the mess. However, Pidge was upset that most of the technology had been thoroughly obliterated. All except for a single, small Galra hoverbot. The discovery of the small bot had made Pidge's day.

The green paladin had subsequently spent all of his free time reprogramming the hoverbot and upgrading its innards in ways Keith couldn't hope to understand. Whatever Pidge had done worked though. The little robot glowed green now instead of the distinctive Galra crimson and followed Pidge around like a child followed its mother. Pidge was thrilled by the hoverbot's actions and had promptly named it 'Rover.' The two had never been seen apart since. It was a regular technophile love affair.

Keithek closed his eyes and allowed himself to sink into the cushions tiredly. They hadn't quite gotten the hang of forming Voltron at will every single time yet, but they were getting there. It seemed they all needed to feel the desire to survive and fight in order for them to merge and form Voltron successfully. It had worked when that Druid-built atrocity of a Robeast arrived on Arus the cycle previous and attacked. Keithek suspected Haggar was behind that Robeast. It was simply too strong for the average Druid or group of Druids to create. They would have lost to it without question had the black paladin not stepped in.

The halfbreed was still intimidated by the Champion. Shiro. He'd asked the be called Shiro. That was another thing: Shiro was a lot nicer than Keithek had ever imagined him to be. He held himself like an alpha but was gentle with the younger paladins and the refugees in a way that wasn't alpha-like. It was more reminiscent of a beta. Shiro even respected Keithek and made an effort to hear the halfbreed's input before making any decisions. It was a nice change to the horrid conditions onboard the Galra battlecruiser.

The refugees had been another story entirely. They had not been entirely kind to Keithek and while he understood, it had still hurt. Strangely, they had shown the same fear of Shiro. They'd called him Champion too. They also provided Team Voltron with a surprising tidbit of information about the former Champion of the arena. It turned out, Shiro had wounded one of his own crew members in order to enter the arena as a gladiator in the first place.

That had been a surprise, but it fit the persona of the Champion he was familiar with. It did not, however, fit the persona of the Shiro he was coming to know. In fact, the black paladin had been horrified and taken aback by the suggestion and vehemently rejected it. So had the green paladin, strangely. Apparently the crew that had been captured with Shiro were the green paladin's family; his father and brother.

Keith was still trying to wrap his head around everything and it was only his third cycle as paladin of the Red Lion. This had not been what he'd thought of as 'freedom' when he'd first escaped, but it was still interesting enough to keep him on his toes.

He wasn't sure when he dosed off, but he sure as hell knew when he woke up. The alarms were blaring and Lance literally fell to the floor from being startled awake. Keithek was on his feet and paused just long enough to grab his mate by the collar of his armor and drag him to his feet before he joined everyone in their rush to get to the bridge.

Please don't be another Robeast, Keithek prayed. Please don't be another Robeast. Please don't be another Robeast.

"What is it princess?" Shiro called when he ran reached the bridge. Of course he was the first one to arrive, Keith grumbled.

"Stand down, paladins," Allura said calmly. "Coran, turn that klaxon off, will you."

The advisor obediently turned off the alarm leaving Keithek and his fellow paladins confused. "Wait," Keithek said. "Was this an emergency or not?"

"Please tell me this wasn't just another drill," Lance whined. "I love you Allura,but I'm not above fighting you."

Keithek twitched but reminded himself that Allura and Lance were siblings and calmed down. Any flirting between those two was clearly not meant to go any deeper than sibling rivalry and care. He still didn't like Lance's tendency to flirt with the other paladins, but at least the pool of candidates was small. Also, Keithek was confident enough in his position in their pack that if he raised a complaint, it would at least be looked into if not acted upon.

Allura was still the top Alpha of their group though. Keithek would never dare cross her. She was scary.

Allura gave her brother an absent- minded smack on the back of his head without looking away from the bridge's main view screen. "It's not a drill," she said. "We appear to have a guest. The Castle detected the being nearing it and alerted us to its presence." She smiled and chuckled. "I doubt it's a threat though."

"Why not?" Hunk asked suspiciously, studying the view screen closely.

He got his answer when a tiny head poked out from behind a rock, raced across the open space to another rock, peaked out from behind it, and ran across the open space again to a spot behind a thick bush. It was…kind of cute. It had a round-ish face with curling horns on either side of its head, huge eyes, no visible nose, and short legs.

"What is that?" Pidge asked, leaning forward hoping to get a better look at the strange creature.

"Probably a local Arusian," Allura said with a smile. "I wouldn't be surprised if we hadn't caught anyone's attention after the firefights we've had over the past few cycles."

"I'll second that," Keithek mumbled.

"Such strange horns," Coran said, zooming in on the Arusian's head. "I wonder what purpose they serve?"

Keithek eyed the advisor disconcertingly, edging closer to Lance's side. Coran hadn't dropped his interest in Keith's genetic makeup which, while it could have been taken as flattery, was downright weird to the halfbreed. He'd never known his mother. He'd only known his father and he hadn't seen him for several periods; not since the Galra empire had separated them.

"Let's go welcome them," Allura said.

"Who, wait, what?" Hunk said. "Hold on. Princess, remember the last alien we met? You know, giant robot thing we fought yesterday? Right. It tried to kill us."

Keithek raised a finger. "Actually," he said, "it wasn't an alien. It was a Robeast with the mind of a living being implanted into it by the Druids."

"Yes," Hunk said. "Yes, thank you Keith. A giant robot alien that tried to kill us."

"But it didn't kill you," Coran said. "Besides, I doubt you could be threatened by such a tiny alien. He's too cute."

"Cute aliens are the worst," Hunk said, shuddering. "It's always the cute ones that turn out to be the deadly ones. Duck-billed platypuses, poison dart frogs, lionfish-"

"Blue-ringed octopus," Pidge added. "Black widow spiders."

Hunk stared at the green paladin in horror. "You think black widow spiders are cute?!"

"Yeah," Pidge said with a shrug. "They're interesting. I also like luna moths. They're carnivorous. They eats bugs and other moths and-"

"Okay, okay, you can't talk anymore," Hunk said, covering Pidge's mouth with his hand. "Shiro, please tell me you don't think black widows are cute."

Shiro shrugged. "I don't like black widow spiders, but I do like the Black Widow."

Hunk squinted at the black paladin then beamed. "You're a nerd!" he shouted, pointing at the oldest paladin. "You're a freakin' nerd. Aw, yeah!"

"What's a black widow?" Keithek asked.

"Is it cute?" Lance asked.

"Can they be found on other planets?" Coran asked.

Allura cleared her throat. "If you don't mind," she said, looking at all of her paladins significantly, "I believe we have a local to welcome. It's never too early to start building good relationships with other races in our fight against Zarkon."

"Alright," Lance said. "Whatever you say, sister dear." He winked.

Allura gave him a tolerant glare before huffing a laugh. "Come on you."

* * *

When the great main door opened, the first thing Allura saw was the beautiful sunlit hills of waving grass dotted by wild flowers against a sapphire sky. Catching herself before she got lost in memories, Allura lowered her gaze to look for their surprise guest. She felt more then saw Lance and Shiro step up to stand on either side of her and offered the little Arusian a friendly smile.

"Hello," she said kindly. "My name is Allura and I mean you no harm."

A tiny, pale yellow Altenoid creature stepped out from behind a rock wielding a metal sword. It's head and horns were a light brown, identical orange stripes streaked down its cheeks, and its eyes were a pupil-less red.

"I am Klaizap," it declared, holding its sword threateningly at Allura, "bravest warrior of my village."

Unafraid of the weapon, Allura stepped forward and leaned down, resting her hands on her knees to appear less tall and intimidating. "Greetings Klaizap," she said with a smile. "Why have you come here?"

"Fire and giant beings from the far above have come over the past cycles," Klaizap said, gesturing grandly.

Allura shot a sharp and quick glare at Hunk when she heard a snicker. "I see," she said, turning back to smile at the tiny Arusian.

"I was chosen by the village elder to seek answers from the shrine of the Lion Goddess and her Guardian," Klaizap said.

"The Lion Goddess?" Allura asked in confusion. She looked up when she felt someone nudge her. Lance stood pointing to a large stone erected next to the Castle's doors that none of them had noticed before. On it was a depiction of an Altenoid with a lion head surrounded by five smaller lions flying through in the sky around her.

"I think you're the Lion Goddess," Lance said, uncharacteristically serious.

Allura stood and placed her hand on the stone, feeling the aged carvings on the cool stone beneath her fingers. "I'm…a goddess?"

"I know, right?" Lance said. "Someone must have lost their minds."

Allura frowned and smacked blindly with her free hand, smirking when she heard and felt a gratifying smack and accompanying yelp.

"Am I the only one here who's aware this thing has a weapon in its hands?" Keith said, pointing to Klaizap's small sword and subtly stepping up to place himself between the Arusian and the royal siblings.

"Easy there," Shiro said, placing his hand on the halfbreed's shoulder. "I doubt it'll do much damage."

"Yeah," Pidge said, activating his bayard with a smirk. "I mean I could take him easy."

Lance's eyes grew huge when he saw the green paladin's bayard, then he smacked a hand over his mouth and not-so-subtly snickered. "Aw," he said between chuckles. "You got a cute little bayard."

Pidge glowered at the prince and swiftly tapped him with her buzzing, green blade. Lance gave a pathetic, high-pitched squeal and collapsed to the ground twitching to Keith amused horror.

"Yeah," Pidge said with a proud smile. "It is pretty cute."

"You guys are ridiculous," Hunk said, shaking his head in tolerant amusement. He held out his hand to the fallen prince and helped him up. "You really shouldn't tease Pidge, you know."

"Can't help it," Lance said, rubbing his still aching side where the green paladin's bayard had connected. "Too easy."

"I can hear you, you know," Pidge muttered in annoyance. "Stupid prince."

Allura cleared her throat and the paladins flushed in embarrassment. "Please forgive my companions," she said with a gracious bow. "They haven't been in such fine company in a while."

Klaizap puffed himself out proudly at the implication. "Of course, Tall One," he said, returning the bow respectfully.

"I believe I'm the one you seek," Allura continued. "I'm not a goddess by any means," she said flushing, "but I am a princess and this is my castle."

"You're the Lion Goddess?" Klaizap gasped. He immediately fell prostrate on the ground in worship. "Oh great Goddess," he prayed, "please tell me what we have done to incur your almight wrath."

Allura held up her hands and stepped back awkwardly. "I'm not a goddess," she insisted, "and I'm not mad at you. Why would I be mad at you?"

"The explosions and giant beings from above were sent to punish us for our sinful ways, were they not?" the Arusian asked, lifting his head to gaze at Allura in awe.

"no, no," the princess said hurriedly. "We never meant any harm to come to you. The giant being you saw in the sky was Voltron. Voltron is the defender of the universe and a friend to all."

"Then…you are not mad at us, great Goddess?" Klaizap said hopefully.

Allura sighed. "I'm not a goddess," she said wearily. "And no, I'm not mad at you. I'm sorry we frightened you and your people. Perhaps we can visit your village and offer our apologies personally?"

"You mean we offer our apologies personally and you stay here," Lance said seriously.

"What? Why?" Allura asked in confusion.

"The Galra think you're dead," Lance said. "We can't risk you leaving the Castle and being seen."

"I will not be cooped up here, Lance," Allura said, stamping her foot in childish frustration as she and her brother resumed their argument.

Shiro sighed. "In this case," he said, drawing the princess's irate gaze to himself, "I have to agree with Lance."

"Wha-"

"Yeah," Keith muttered, still glaring at the Arusian with open distrust. "We don't know anything about these people. This could all be a trick to lure you out of hiding."

"But the Galra think I'm dead," Allura argued. "Why would they try to trik a dead person out of hiding?"

"She's got a point," Hunk said.

"Thank you Hunk," Allura said, gesturing to the yellow paladin gratefully.

"We could always invite them here," Pidge offered.

"What?" Keith cried. "That's an even worse idea."

"Why?" the green paladin countered. "Think about it. If we invited the Arusians here, we could get to know them and they could get to know us. Besides," he added with a sly grin and wave of his bayard, "everyone bonds best over food."

"Truer words were never spoken," Hunk declared.

"But-" Allura started.

"And," Pidge continued, "if they came here, you could see them and speak to them directly without the Galra finding out about you because you wouldn't actually be leaving the Castle."

"I don't know," Shiro said cautiously. "I'm not sure I like the idea of having lots of people coming and going without being checked out first."

"I agree with Shiro," Keith said.

"Well I agree with Pidge," Lance said. "Even if I'm totally holding that hit from your bayard against you personally, by the way."

"Don't insult me and it won't happen again," Pidge said.

"I didn't insult you," Lance said, offended by the notion. "I insulted your bayard."

"Same thing," Pidge snapped.

"Guys!" Shiro said loud enough to get everyone's attention. "Calm down."

"Yes, Space Dad," Lance said, shooting a cheeky grin at the black paladin who rolled his eyes and groaned.

"Look sis," Lance said, turning to Allura. "I know you want to go outside," his smile softened. "Believe me, I know. But let us determine it's safe first. Let me do my duty as your Sentinel."

"My Sentinel?" Allura repeated in bewilderment.

Lance nodded and knelt on one knee at his sister's feet, bowing his head and touching his forehead, mouth, and chest with his right hand. "With my thoughts, my words, and my heart, I live to watch and protect." He lifted his eyes to his sister's startled ones and said seriously, "Let me do my duty."

"You…You're the Guardian!" Klaizap cried, pointing at Lance in shock.

The other paladins were also caught off guard by the prince's unusual display, but said nothing. It just didn't feel right to speak. The atmosphere had changed too fast and they all suspected there was more happening here than what met the eye.

Allura placed her hand over her heart, taken aback by her brother's display. He had only done this once: when he had first accepted the position of Sentinel. Never since. Not until now. This was a request from Lance the Sentinel to Allura the Heir, not Lance her brother to Allura his sister. She could not turn down such a request. Dropping her shoulders in surrender, the princess sighed.

"Very well," she said. "Then Lance, Sentinel of the Castle of Lions, I ask you to seek out the Arusians and invite them to a celebration at the Castle. Any and all are welcome for this is a place of peace and safety. No harm shall come to those you enter here. Pass this message to the Arusian leader as the Sentinel." She swallowed thickly. "Be ever watchful," she intoned, placing her index and middle fingers gently on her brother's forehead.

"So I shall be," Lance finished the traditional response. Then he broke tradition and took his sister's hand in his and stood. He smiled. "Don't worry about me," he said. "My awesome skills will keep me safe."

Allura couldn't help it. She snorted and batted her brother's hand away playfully. "Whatever, brother. Come back in once piece, you hear me?" she ordered. "Keith," she said, turning to the red paladin. Keith stood stock still when the princess focused her attention on him. "Make sure Lance comes back in one piece or I'll make sure your body is never found."

Keith gulped and nodded. "Yes your highness."

"Whipped," Pidge muttered to Hunk who nodded. Shiro nudged the two of them and glared. Pidge met his glare with a raised eyebrow to which Shiro hesitantly nodded in agreement. Pidge smirked in triumph and Shiro sighed.

"Very well then," the princess said, turning to Klaizap. "Brave warrior of the Arusians," she said formally, "will you offer your valiant protection and guidance to my companions as they bear my message to your village?"

Klaizap still looked a little starstruck as he nodded. "Yes, yes! Of course," he said quickly. "Whatever the Lion Goddess and her Guardians wishes!"

Allura sighed. "I'm not a goddess," she said.

Lance snickered and patted her on the back. "Hey, if you're a Goddess and I'm your Guardian-"

"Don't."

"Does that make me a God too?" Lance finished with a cheeky wink.

This time it wa Keith who smacked him, not Allura. Lance spent the entire march to the Arusian village moping about it. It was worth it.

* * *

He glared at the structure shining bright in the daylight. It taunted him with its unharmed perfection. It stood for everything he despised, and it stood where his great battlecruiser had fallen. All because one halfbreed had betrayed his duty and helped Sendak's prized captive escape with the Red Lion.

It was a shear stroke of luck that he and his second-in-command managed to escape his doomed battlecruiser. Only a handful of drones had been salvaged from the disaster as well, most of them from the fighters that had crashed after the battlecruiser was destroyed by the accursed Voltron. The force he and Haxus had accumulated was small, but their enemy had few numbers as well.

Sendak had taken the past few cycles to quietly observe his enemy. He watched them struggle with their Lions, he'd watched the Castle fire its weapons at the Lions until shield lifted and the Lions returned to their hangers, and studied the dynamics of the team. The paladin of the Black Lion was the clear leader of the pride, but there were times when the black paladin would give way to the blue paladin. The Green Lion was clever but not as agile as the Blue Lion and the Yellow Lion was by far the most armored of the pride. There was also the Red Lion.

His one biological eye narrowed as he thought of the Red Lion. It had been in his grasp until that despicable halfbreed escaped with the Altean prince, taking the Red Lion with them. The red paladin was either the prince or the halfbreed. It was possible the halfbreed was the red paladin and the prince was the one controlling the Castle. However, Sendak suspected the red paladin was the pointy-eared bastard.

Either way, Sendak wanted both of those two alive. Zarkon had commanded Sendak to bring the Altean prince to him alive and Sendak would obey his emperor, no matter much it irked him to do so. But the halfbreed he wanted alive so he could have his overdue revenge. If Sendak was able to snag a Druid from another battlecruiser or trade post, then he could take his anger out on the prince as well without having to worry about lingering visible damage. Plus, he could all but guarantee he could work that stubborn resistance out of the prince until the pacifist brat until the boy submitted to him.

He looked forward to that day.

"Sir."

"What is it Haxus?" Sendak said curtly, keeping his eyes on the Castle.

"The local population has made contact with the Castle."

"And I would be interested in this, why?" Sendak said, turning his glare to Haxus.

His second-in-command did not flinch. In fact, he smirked. "Apparently the paladins plan to hot a gathering in the interest of strengthening peaceful relations."

"Again," Sendak growled, "why would I-"

"The prince and the halfbreed will be there."

"Ah." Sendak squared his shoulders.

"As I understand it," Haxus said, glancing at one of the drones, "the Castle doors will be left open during the whole even for the guests to come and go as they please."

"Will they indeed?" Sendak purred, turning back to the gleaming Castle. "Then in the interest of strengthening relations, it would be rude not to pay our respects with a suitable show of strength.


	20. PART 2 - 20: Nip it in the Bud

**A/N:** This is a bit of a feelsy chapter so be prepared. Allura is still working through stuff and Lance's homesickness is beginning to rear its head. It only goes downhill from here. For now that is. On the bright side, there's some heavy klance in the second half of this chapter.

I'll edit this tomorrow morning when I'm awake and on break at work. I have to crash now. Night. Enjoy~

 **Chapter summary:** In which Allura is still dealing with emotions while keeping her brother from getting laid, Keith gets a bit hasty, and Lance is homesick and just wants to be courted.

* * *

 **20: Nip it in the Bud  
**

"You still haven't shown him, have you?"

The princess sighed and refused to look at her advisor. She knew Coran was disappointed with her. She was disappointed with herself for her weakness. But that didn't mean she was ready to face her weakness.

"I haven't found the right moment," she said, pretending to focus on the task at hand.

"You and I both know that's not true," Coran said gently.

Allura could feel her advisor's disappointment from across the room. It irked her to admit it, but he was right. There had been plenty of opportunities to tell her brother, to _show_ her brother the truth. But she'd procrastinated, putting it off until later until two full cycles had pass since her paladins had first formed Voltron.

It wasn't fair to Lance that only she knew their father still lived on in a memory core installed in the Castle. Allura knew this. She _knew_ this, and still she procrastinated. It was selfish and the guilt was eating away at her. Talking to Father was something she knew Lance needed just as badly as she did. But at the same time, she didn't want to share.

She knew she was being petty and this was no time for such childishness. But she couldn't fight back the lingering sadness and desire to have this to herself. She felt like a burden who served no purpose for their self-dubbed Team Voltron save her tie to the Lions. She wasn't an asset so much as an annoying tag-along whose sole purpose was to keep the Lions alive and functioning correctly.

This was stupid and nowhere near the truth, but it felt like that sometimes. Even Lance, her childlike tease of a brother, was a paladin. She knew what her brother had suffered when he'd been held captive by the Galra. She knew he had inadvertently allowed himself to become the focal point of Zarkon's attention just to protect her. But he'd never asked her if she even _wanted_ to be protected. Even Father hadn't asked her before having Lance throw her into a cryopod and leave her to sleep in lonely silence for over 10,000 years.

So yes, she held a grudge. She understood her father's reasoning and she knew Lance only did what he did because he loved her, but it still hurt her pride. She was an Altean princess, voted into the office of Heir Apparent, and trained in diplomacy and self-defense. She wasn't helpless.

But was her pride really a good enough reason to keep her father and Lance apart? Was this her way of punishing them for bruising her pride? If so, then her pride was more sensitive than she'd thought. This was not what she'd been brought up to be; a spoiled princess who took petty revenge for unimportant slights. Even if those unimportant slights had long-lasting consequences. She was better than that.

Finally, Allura sighed, her entire form drooping in defeat. "Alright," she said eventually. "I'll tell him tonight. After the Arusians leave."

"Princess," Coran began, reaching out to the young woman who had once been a child in his arms.

"If I show him before, he won't be in an acceptable state to greet and mingle with the guests," Allura said.

"That may be so," her advisor said, stepping forward so he stood next to her. He gently placed his hands on both of Allura's shoulders and turned her around so she no longer gazed at the empty holodeck but into his sad eyes. "But is that really the wisest decision or are you still trying to delay the inevitable?"

The princess bowed her head. "I'll pull him aside after the party-"

"Might I suggest a compromise?" Coran suggested, cutting the princess's argument off. "Let Lance stay at the party for a while," he said. "Then excuse yourself and take Lance to the holodeck. He needs this, Allura," Coran said, squeezing the princess's shoulders. "He _needs_ this. The party will be fine without him for an hour or so. You're a magnificent hostess and with your paladins by your side, you'll be well protected."

The princess bristled in annoyance. "I can protect myself," she snapped more harshly than she intended.

"I know you can," her advisor said, nodding in agreement. "But you're more than just our princess. You're our friend. We want to protect you because we care about you; you Allura, not you the princess. I know you're perfectly capable of defending yourself." He snorted and winked, tapping the princess's nose fondly. "You forget, young lady, I watched you grow up wrestling with your brothers. You had them all on their knees before they had the chance to defend themselves."

Allura failed to fight back her smile at the memory. "I was a right mess wasn't I?" she asked.

"Absolutely," Coran agreed emphatically. "There was more than one occasion where you nearly drove me and your father into an early grave."

Allura laughed, furiously wiping away the traitorous water that threatened to fill her eyes. Soft fur brushed the princess's neck and Allura's smile broadened. When her brother had first seen her mice companions, he'd been more than little disturbed. When he found out they were mentally linked to his sister, Lance had freaked out. Now he always made sure he was completely alone before sneaking a nap. Too bad Allura's mice were adept at hiding and always reported where her brother's secret nap hideaway was. It made scaring her brother awake that much more entertaining.

The fat green mouse on Allura's shoulder tittered at the princess's memory and snuggled close to her neck. The mice had become Allura's eyes and ears throughout the Castle, keeping an eye on her paladins; particularly the red paladin. She still didn't trust Keith completely and neither did her mice, but she knew the halfbreed would never betray her brother. The real question was whether Keith would consider betraying her and the other paladins as a betrayal to Lance or not. The Galra were notoriously loyal to their mates, but that particular brand of loyalty was _only_ to their mates. No one else.

"I'll take Keith to meet Father tonight," Allura said firmly. "But only if you keep an eye on Keith until I get back."

Coran gave Allura an odd look. "You still don't trust him?" he asked in bewilderment.

"No, I do," Allura said firmly. "I trust him never to betray my brother."

"Then why do you want me to keep an eye on him?" her advisor asked, his eyes studying Allura's face for any sign of subterfuge.

"I trust his loyalty to my brother," Allura said again. "But I don't trust him around other races yet. I don't… He's half Galra. I don't want that to be the first thing people see to the point they refuse to look any deeper. We can't afford to lose a chance to form an alliance because one of our own has the blood of the enemy flowing in his veins. We still can't figure out what race his other half belongs to."

"I thought we were passed this," Coran said in disappointment.

" _I_ am passed it," Allura said. "But the universe isn't. I'm being realistic, Coran. We should gain the trust of the people before letting them know about Keith's heritage. If there's an underground movement, we need to find it."

The princess waved her hand and pulled up the star map depicting the extent of the Galra Empire. "We barely know anything about the Empire other than what Keith has been able to provide, which isn't much in the grand scheme of things," she said, narrowing her eyes and studying the different worlds gleaming Galra reddish-purple. "Keith may be our way in."

"I don't understand," Coran said hesitantly. "You don't… You aren't planning on sending him back to the Galra, are you?"

"What?" Allura gasped, turning to her advisor in shock, offended by the very idea. "No. Don't be ridiculous." She turned back to the star map in thoughtfully. "Keith will never betray my brother because Lance is his mate. Deliberate or not, the Galra take things like that seriously. They always have. I admit, I don't know how far that loyalty extends as far as you and I and the other paladins are concerned, but I do know Lance will be taken care of."

"However," she added cooly. "That doesn't mean I'm ready for Keith to have his way with my baby brother."

Coran snickered. "Honestly, I'm surprised Keith hasn't made a move already." He paused and stared at the princess in surprise. "You did that on purpose," he said, comprehension lighting his eyes. "You've been running the paladins to near exhaustion just to keep Keith from Lance's bed."

Allura flushed. "He's my baby brother," she said defensively. "Keith hasn't so much as _tried_ to court my brother. What makes you think I'm just going to let them copulate like lovers at a juniberry festival without first going through the proper courting procedures? Lance is worth more than that."

Coran threw his head back and cackled madly. "I certainly hope Lance never learns of this," he said, wiping tears of amusement from his eyes. "If he knew you were keeping him from flirting with his own mate…" He collapsed back into uncontrollable laughter, bending over from the force of it. "You are…a woman to be fear, my lady," he said.

Allura grinned. "Yes," she purred. "I won't let that be forgotten." The mouse on her shoulder squeaked and she chuckled. "Yes, I suppose there is that," she said, scrunching her nose. "I have to deal with Lance's flirting all my life. I can wait before I get stuck seeing him actually be intimate with someone seriously in the hallway."

"I doubt Lance would go so far as to-" Allura just shot Coran a look and the advisor nodded. "Yes, he would," he admitted.

"It wasn't all selfish though," Allura said, turning back to the stars. "The paladins still haven't been able to form Voltron at will yet. They're close, but close isn't good enough. They need to be ready for anything to happen at any time, day or night. As long as we're stuck here on Arus, we need to be watchful. Once we're in space, then we can start our true offensive. Keith's knowledge will be invaluable then."

"How so?" Coran asked curiously.

The princess bit her lip as she walked through the holographic stars, studying the readouts by each planet. "I mean Keith may know more than he realizes. Something seemingly insignificant like a certain outpost that was visited more often than usual or maybe a pattern of shipping weapons, energy, prisoners, anything we can use. We have a huge problem in front of us," Allura said, feeling her heart quake with the enormity of what she and her team were trying to accomplish. "But perhaps the best way to begin would be little things: disrupting trade routes, freeing prisoners, freeing the outer planets, and working our way inwards.

"If we could find out where the Galra were getting the energy required to power their fleets and take that out, or better yet _keep_ it, then may have a serious chance at success," Allura continue. She huffed and stamped her foot in frustration. "I just need more information and being stuck inside this Castle like some ill-kept secret is doing nothing for my mood or my nerves."

"I understand," Coran said with a sympathetic smile.

 _"Allura,"_ Lance's voice called over the communication systems. _"You there?"_

"Yes, Lance, I'm here," the princess replied, tilting her head up to the walls where the speakers were mounted. "I'm on the holodeck. Is something wrong?"

 _"We just got back from the Arusian village,"_ Lance said. _"They should start arriving in a few tocks or so. Coran, think you can handle the cooking for this on your own?"_

"I most certainly can," Coran declared proudly, straightening the lapels of his uniform jacket.

 _"Can I help?"_ Hunk's voice asked hopefully. _"I can cook. I used to do it all the time for my family back home."_

"Oh," Coran said. "Well that's good to hear. All hands are welcome. Except Lance's," he added firmly.

 _"Really?"_ Lance demanded. _"That was **one** time. Honestly, how long are you going to hold a grudge?"_

"The entire Altean court was unable to function properly for the entire day, young man," Coran said, crossing his arms and sniffing in disdain. "You were lucky to get off with the punishment you got."

 _"That was a horrible punishment!"_ Lance cried. _"It was hardly equal to the crime."_

 _"Lance,"_ Hunk said suspiciously, _"did you defile the kitchen?"_

 _"What? No! Wha… I made the food **better**!"_ Lance cried.

Allura snickered at her brother's obvious distress. She coughed to clear her throat and said with as much seriousness as she could muster, "You mixed juniberry's in the court's formal evening meal during a very delicate diplomatic meeting."

 _"But it went smoothly because of it,"_ Lance whined. _"Even you can't deny that."_

"Lance," Allura said, propping her hands on her waist. "The entire council of diplomats were in a juniberry state for a full cycle."

 _"And they were more open about everything because of it,"_ Lance countered. _"The whole thing went without a hitch."_

"Until they woke up," Coran said.

 _"Why is it that the more I hear you people talk about these 'juniberry' things, the more I get the feeling their hallucinatory drugs?"_ Pidge said, sounding slightly disturbed by the idea.

 _"You took drugs?"_ Keith asked in surprise.

 _"Oh quiznack,"_ Lance moaned. _"What is **wrong** with all of you? Don't gang up on me. Shiro?"_

 _"I'm staying out of this one"_ Shiro said carefully.

"A wise decision paladin," Coran said.

 _"But I'd listen to Coran and stay out of the kitchen, if I were you,"_ Shiro finished.

 _"Traitor,"_ Lance muttered.

Allura laughed. "I suggest everyone take this opportunity to freshen up and help Coran and me ready the Castle for our guests. Lance, stay out of the kitchen."

 _"Now you're just being mean,"_ her brother grumbled.

"Being the oldest has its perks," Allura said. "See you soon."

* * *

There should have been live music and formally dressed attendees mingling, laughing, and dancing throughout the Castle's main foyer and down the high ceilinged hall leading to the main entrance. There should have been the joyful sounds of his siblings as they darted between the attendees, hiding behind legs and under skirts, sneaking glasses of juniberry juice, and throwing food at each other. There should have been a king standing at the front of the foyer greeting each guest in person as they arrived.

But the music was a recording found in the Castle's extensive logs, filtering through the sound system without true players behind them. The only voices were those of the local Arusians, his fellow paladins, Coran, and Allura. The Arusian children brought a smile to his face when they dragged him into their endless game of catch-and-run between cups of nunvill since there were no juniberries to make juniberry juice from. Not anymore.

It was all gone, just like his father. There was no king to greet the guests as they arrived. Now Allura stood in King Alfor's place, grasping each Arusian's tiny hands and welcoming them to the Castle of Lions. It was so familiar and yet so foreign.

"Are you alright?" Keith asked, startling Lance from his thoughts.

The prince did not jump in surprise.

"Did you just-"

"No," Lance said curtly. "I did not. You need to get your eyes checked." He tipped his head back and downed the rest of his nunvill in one huge gulp.

"I am checking you out," Keith said.

Lance may or may not have choked on the nunvill. He did cough, perhaps.

"That…" He cleared his throat. "That was smooth. Are you trying to flirt with me?"

"Is it working?" Keith asked with a smirk.

Lance blinked and chuckled. "Maybe," he admitted. "You have a lot to learn about courting though."

"I'm sure I could find a good teacher," Keith said, his face darkening somewhat. His ears twitched, flicking back and forth from the noise of the party.

Lance actually turned to face Keith directly in surprise. He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head slightly. "I'm not sure I understand what you want from me right now," he said.

"How dense can you be?" Keith groaned, rolling his violet and gold eyes. He snatched Lance's empty cup and set it on a tray held by a passing hoverbot before taking the prince's hand. "Come with me."

"Where are-woAH!"

Keith slipped down one of the hallways branching from the main foyer.

"Where are we going?" Lance said, hurrying to keep with as he was all but dragged behind Keith.

"Shut your quiznack," Keith snapped not unkindly.

Lance's eyebrows flew up to his hairline, a grin tugging at the corners of his lips. "I don't think you're using that word correctly," he snarked back.

Keith didn't respond how Lance was expecting. Instead, the red paladin stopped and yanked Lance forward so the prince stumbled into one of the walls. Before Lance could recover his sense and figure out what was happening, Keith was suddenly there. Lance stilled, pressing his back against the cold metal wall when the very acting of breathing made his chest touch Keith's. The red paladin lifted his left hand and planted it against the wall next to the prince's head, blocking the dim light filtering around the corner of the hall from the foyer and casting a shadow across Lance's face.

Keith's eyes gleamed in the near darkness. There was something in them Lance had only seen in passing, a hunger he had only seen in the eyes of Alteans under the influence of juniberry juice. It was simultaneously exciting and terrifying. It was highly unlikely there were any stashes of juniberry juice in the bowels of the Castle, which meant it had probably been wiped out when Altea was destroyed. Had juniberry juice been raging through Lance's veins, he probably would have welcomed Keith's stare, maybe even have returned it with equal fervor. But he was in full possession of his faculties and had never been on the receiving end of such a gaze.

He flirted, but it was all a game, never meant to be taken seriously. Alteans were a friendly race whose strongest sense was touch. They thrived in groups, were masters of diplomacy and embraced the cultural differences of other races with interest and open curiosity. But they were proud of their own traditions and cultures. They were proud of who they were as a people, as a race. There was a proper way of things. Courting on Altea was steeped in tradition and designed to bring all partners involved to a level of understanding and comfort before taking part in the juniberry festival as partners.

Lance had never been courted. Neither had Allura. Lance flirted and dreamed of one day sharing himself with his partner at a juniberry festival; but that would never happen now. He had wondered what it would be like to rile Keith up to a heightened state such as this. But now that it was actually happening, he had no idea what to do.

"You're shaking," Keith whispered, never looking away from Lance's eyes. "Stop."

"I can't," Lance whispered, swallowing on a suddenly dry throat.

Keith leaned closer so his nose almost brushed the prince's. "Then I'll make you," he warned.

Lance felt his body press closer to the wall, tilting his head slightly when Keith's face got too close. He realized what he'd done only when he saw Keith's eyes widen. The dark pupils grew, swallowing the violet irises a moment before teeth latched onto his shoulder where his Mark was. It stung, but not in a bad way. It was confusing and throwing Lance's senses into a tizzy.

Then Keith's other hand slipped between the wall and Lance's lower back, flattening and pressing Lance's body so he was flush against Keith's. One of the red paladin's legs worked its way between Lance's legs and lifted so the knee pressed up against Lance's crotch. The prince's hands immediately latched onto Keith. His right hand clutched a handful of Keith's shirt and his left gripped Keith's upper right arm, unsure whether to push the red paladin away or pull him closer.

"K…Keith," he breathed. "Wha-"

Keith growled and Lance shivered, his eye falling shut with a sigh. His knees grew weak, slowly but surely giving way until only Keith's knee and firm hold kept him from sinking to the floor. This wasn't… It felt… He didn't want to be this… This was good, _more_ than good but…

He wanted to be courted. He wanted to show his chosen everything. He wanted to dance with his chosen in the light of the two moons. He wanted to his chosen to smell the scent of cyprin sticks as they shared their first kiss. He wanted to fly with his chosen through the Falls of Atwar. He wanted to share a cup of juniberry juice with his chosen on the night of the juniberry festival and become partners. He just wanted his chosen…

He just wanted the choice.

But it was gone. Altea was gone. There was no moon on Arus. Cyprin was nowhere to be found. The Falls of Atwar were obliterated with Altea. The juniberries were gone, wiped out with the Altean people. There would be no more juniberry festivals. There would be no choosing. His choice had been taken from him.

While it wasn't a bad thing, it was certainly…different.

And a little frightening.

"Lance!" Coran's voice called, echoing down the dark hallway. "Allura wants you. There's something you should se- By the Lions, what the quiznack is going on here?!"

Lance closed his eyes and for a tick, just a short tick, he wished he hadn't woken up from his long slumber.


	21. PART 2 - 21: Raw Emotion

**A/N:** Again, heavy on the emotions. I'll edit this seriously tomorrow morning. I'm crashing now cause it's past midnight which means it's past my bedtime.

 **Chapter summary:** In which the mice know things, Shiro also knows things, Coran does have a temper, and Lance is _not_ fine. **  
**

* * *

 **22: Raw Emotion  
**

Allura retreated the grand stairway in the foyer and sat down on one of the steps midway up, a cup of nunvill in her hands. A hoverbot floated by with several Altean treats. She couldn't resist snatching a couple of the sweets on sticks; they were her favorite. The little Arusians seemed to gravitate to Hunk and Pidge because they were the most relatable of the paladins.

The Altean mice scampered up her skirt and sat on tittered at Allura's lap, mentally lecturing her for her choice of words.

The princess blushed and pursed her lips in a sulk. "I wasn't going to say it out loud," she mumbled. The pink mouse sniffed at her and Allura sighed. "Alright, fine. It's because they're the shortest."

The blue squeaked and hopped on the green mouse's shoulders, patting its stomach and miming stuffing its face with food.

"Yes, that does sound like Hunk," Allura said laughing. "He has a heart as big as his stomach."

The blue mouse waved to get her attention then made a lovely, feminine expression accompanied by a slew of mental images that had the princess sitting ramrod straight.

"Pidge is a _what?!"_ Allura gasped.

She leaned forward, teetering precariously from her step and stared at her green paladin. Pidge was squatting with a group of Arusian children, Rover hovering loyally over his -her?- shoulder. Rover's green glow flashed in a pattern as if it was speaking, or beeping as it were. Whatever it "said," it made Pidge laugh.

Allura thought about everything she knew about Pidge so far. The green paladin's full name was Pidge Gunderson (or was it?), he was a genius (definitely true, something like that can't be faked), his father and brother had been part of Shiro's crew and been captured by the Galra (the black paladin had confirmed that himself), and Pidge had a hard time surviving without something called "caffeine." Whatever that was.

It struck the princess that she didn't really know her paladins as well as she thought. The may work together as a team towards a common goal, but they barely knew anything about each other on a personal level. All things considered, Pidge could be female and no one would have been the wiser. It was all so distant, professional, and slapdash. The only real relationship in this whole mess was between Lance and Keith and even that was questionable at best.

Speaking of, where was Lance? Allura looked around for her brother and didn't see him right away. Come to think of it, Keith wasn't anywhere in the foyer either. Immediately, Allura's eyes narrowed and she stood, gathering the mice into her hands and setting them on her shoulder.

"Coran," she called.

Her advisory skipped across the floor at her summons, avoiding two Arusian children who ran into his path as he went. "The party is going well so far," Coran said, his face lit by a huge smile. "I did notice Pidge slipping some of the food into his bag when he thought no one else was looking. But considering Hunk does that all the time, I guess I shouldn't worry," he added, chortling happily.

"Where's- Wait. Pidge was what?" Allura asked, turning back to the green paladin just in time to see him dump a plate full of snacks into his backpack. The princess furrowed her brow and glanced at the blue mouse on her shoulder. "You're absolutely sure?" she asked.

The mouse nodded enthusiastically and Allura hummed in disbelief. "I'll have to get to the bottom of this," she murmured.

"Hm? The bottom of what?" Coran asked, glancing between the princess and her mice.

"Nothing!" Allura said quickly, looking straight at her adviser like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Coran gave her a look and Allura bit her lip. "It nothing right now," she said. She shook her head. "We'll discuss this later. Have you seen Lance?"

"Ah," Coran said, his bright smile returning. "Finally ready to show your brother his little surprise?"

"Y-yes," Allura said, searching the foyer for her brother. "Have you seen Keith?" she asked after a moment.

Coran hesitated. "He was trying out some of the nunvill with Hunk last I saw," he said slowly. "Why?"

"Because I can't find either of them," Allura said seriously.

Coran's smile slipped from his face and he too gave the room a full once-over. "You're right," he said. "They're both gone."

"Find them," Allura ordered, her voice curt. Her advisor turned to her in surprise. "Find them and bring Lance to me," she insisted.

"And if I find Keith with him?" Coran asked, studying his princess's expression carefully.

"Then make him wish he never touched my baby brother," Allura said. "If he wants Lance, I expect him to work for it. Nothing comes for free. Lance is worth more than some common whore."

Coran nodded. "It shall be done," he said. "Please inform Shiro that I'll have to cut our delightful conversation short. Also," he added after a moment of thought, "would you mind if I borrowed your furry companions?"

"My mice?" Allura asked, placing a finger on one of her friends' heads. "Why?"

"They may be able to help me narrow down where Keith and Lance are," Coran said. "If we split up, we can find them more quickly."

It made sense, Allura thought. She glanced at her friends for their permission and was pleased when they nodded. They hopped into her cupped hands and moved in her advisor's.

"If you find Keith and he's with Lance," Allura said to her mice, "you have my permission to bite him."

Coran snorted when the mice saluted the princess. "Alright then," he said to his new search companions. He strolled confidently over to the far wall of the foyer and knelt down so the mice could easily hop to the floor. "Each of you take a hallway," he said. "Come get me if you find our two missing paladins, alright? As for the biting part," he winced, "better wait on that until Lance is gone, alright? Wouldn't want him getting mad now would we?" The mice shook their cute, furry heads and Coran chuckled. "Very well then. Off with you. I'll give an extra treat to the one who finds them."

The mice squeaked and raced down the different hallways as fast as their tiny feet could carry them.

* * *

Allura laughed into her hand as she watched her advisor give orders to her mice. He did know she could hear their thoughts, right? She knew he'd asked them not to bite Keith until Lance was out of the picture. She decided not to say anything because honestly, she agreed that would be the best approach.

"I don't like this."

Startled, Allura turned to her black paladin. She hadn't even noticed him walk up to her. She must be slipping. "Don't like what?" she asked curiously. "The party? Are you not a party person?" She smiled sympathetically. "Don't feel bad. Not everyone enjoys them. I'm sorry it's making you uncomfortable though. Feel free to retire if it gets to be too much for you."

Shiro shook his head and turned to look out the main doors down the main entryway in concern. "I don't like having our defenses completely down like this," he clarified. "Everyone coming and going without question…" He sighed through his nose. "It just doesn't seem safe."

"The Arusians are peaceful creatures," Allura said gently. "They mean us no harm. Besides," she said, watching a pair of Arusians fall over themselves laughing, "they have the right to see the inside of the Castle that's been on their planet for 10,000 years. Maybe it will help them see that I'm not a goddess after all," she said wryly.

Shiro snorted despite himself. "I don't think that will go away anytime soon," he said, looking at the princess in sympathetic amusement.

Allura rolled her eyes and stuck out her lower lip. "I don't like being worshiped," she admitted. "It's too weird. It makes me feel like I'm supposed to be perfect. I'm not."

"No one's perfect," Shiro said gently. "I don't think anyone can be."

He smiled at the princess who returned his smile with the faintest hint of color in her cheeks. That was a surprise. Shiro fought back his own mounting blush to stare back out at the moonless landscape of Arus. The stars and lights from the Castle were bright enough to illuminate the area close to the Castle but beyond that, it was too dark for his human eyes to see clearly. Keith would probably be able to see in the dark better than any of them.

"Something doesn't feel right," he muttered. It was too dark. Maybe it was his instincts from his captivity kicking in or maybe it was his dislike of dark places, but something just didn't seem right. He had a feeling this was going to be a long night. "I'm going to go check the perimeter," he said. "Let me know if you need anything, your highness," he said.

Then with a formal bow, he turned and made his way outside. He was surprised to see Pidge standing by the main doors, tipping what was probably his third platter of snacks into his backpack. He smiled.

"You know too many sweet will give you cavities," he teased.

Pidge froze and looked down guiltily. "Yeah," he said.

Shiro's smiled faded. "Hey Pidge, are you alright?" he asked.

The green paladin hugged his backpack close, a flush coloring his cheeks. "Don't tell Allura, but…"

Shiro studied his friend closely and understood. "You're leaving," he said grimly.

Pidge grimaced. "I have to," he said, lifting his eye to stare at the black paladin directly. "My father and brother are still out there. They could be held captive somewhere, or slaves, or who knows what else. I can't just stay here and do nothing knowing that! I…" Tears brimmed Pidge's eyes. "I just… I just can't. I'm sorry."

Shiro crouched down in front of the green paladin and placed his hand on Pidge's shoulder. "I understand," he said sadly. "Believe me, I do. I wish you would stay but I won't stop you from leaving." He squeezed Pidge's shoulder in a comforting manner. "I won't tell Allura unless she asks." He stood and pulled his hand back. "Good luck Katie," he said and stepped out into the cool night air of Arus to begin his perimeter check, missing the startled gasp from the green paladin.

* * *

He was, in a word, furious. He prided himself on having a good control of his temper. He couldn't remember the last time he blew up in anger, although it probably had to do with Lance in the kitchen. But what he felt now was more than just anger. It was indignation, disgust, disapproval, and shame for the young prince.

Lance was held against the wall, imprisoned by Keith's body, and shaking. The prince's head was tilted back in a show of submission and the red paladin's mouth was clamped down on the Mark. His eyes were closed in what could have been pleasure, had the fear and sadness not been so plainly visibly on his face.

I made Coran's blood boil.

To make matters worse, Keith hadn't let go of Lance even after Coran had arrived.

"Remember when I said to wait until Lance was gone before biting," Coran said, noticing the way Keith's ears twitched, "ignore that order. Bite him now."

Coran stood back and watched as Allura's mice hurried across the floor to the couple. The fat green mouse sunk its teeth into the red paladin's ankle eliciting a sharp yelp. The other, smaller mice climbed up Keith's leg underneath his fabric of his pants and proceeded to bit his leg.

Caught off guard by the intrusion of ticklish fluffiness and stinging needles in his legs leapt away from Lance and flailed about, trying to stop the pain. He smacked his pants and wriggled his legs, and shook his feet in his numerous attempts to escape the pain.

Lance, however, made no move to run. He didn't do anything after Keith released him except sink limply to the floor and hang his head to stare at the floor. Coran ignored the red paladin's plight in favor of carefully pulling Lance to his feet and looping a supporting arm around the prince's waist. Together, Coran guided his prince away from the still flailing halfbreed to the main foyer. He wasn't surprised to see Allura running towards them trying very hard not to look as horrified as she probably felt.

When the princess placed her hands on either side of her brother's face, she brushed her thumbs over the blue scales at the corner of Lance's eyes. Instantly, Lance blinked back to himself and stood up straight.

"Fine," he said quickly. "Fine, I'm fine. It's nothing." His hand moved up to cover his Mark before he caught himself and held his arm stiffly by his side.

Allura looked directly into her brother's eyes and pressed her thumbs against the blue scales once more and Lance twitched, calmly reaching up and removing his sister's hands. "I'm fine," he said again.

"You're a horrible liar," Allura said. "Coran," she said without taking her eyes off of her brother, "make sure Keith stays here. If he asks for Lance, tell him we're busy."

"Understood," Coran said, executing a slight bow.

The princess turned her hands in Lance's grip and tugged him. "Come with me," she said softly. "There's something I should have shown you when I first saw it, but I didn't." She spoke as they walked. "I think we both need this right now."

"What is it?" Lance asked, regaining some of his usual personality.

Allura flashed him a smirk and Lance suddenly wasn't sure about this. "I'm scared," he said flatly.

"Don't be," his sister said playfully. "You'll love this."

"Now I'm _really_ scared," Lance said.

Allura just laughed and pulled him along. It took a moment for him to recognize their destination. "The holodeck?" he said in confusion. "Why are we here? What about the party?"

"It'll be fine without us for a tock or so," Allura said. "Coran is a great host. You know that."

"Um, about Keith-"

"Don't mention his name right now," Allura snapped. "I'm still mad at him for that display back there."

Lance blushed, gulping nervously. "I… He… I may have…led him on."

"That doesn't change anything," Allura said. "I will not accept him as a legitimate suitor for you until he properly courts you."

Lance laughed breathlessly and squeezed his sister's hand. "You realize I'll hold the same level of respectability from your potential life partner."

The princess blushed. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said quickly.

Lance gave her a look from the corner of his eye then actually looked at her, surprise causing his mouth to drop open. He snickered. "You don't know," he said.

"I don't know what?" Allura demanded. "What do you mean?" Lance just snickered and rolled his shoulder, preening smugly. "Lance!" the princess said. Again, Lance ignored her in favor of laughing. "Fine," she huffed. "Keep your secrets from me." She smirked. "But I bet you can't keep them from Father."

Lance stilled and glared at her. "That's not funny," he said coldly.

Allura's smile just softened but it was someone else who spoke.

"No, it's not."

Lance froze, his blood rushing from his face and leaving his hands and legs cold and tingly. It couldn't be. He swallowed.

"But it is true, is it not?"

The prince turned around slowly and felt his heart pound painfully in his chest. There, standing on the pedestal in the middle of the holodeck, was King Alfor just as Lance remembered him.

"This isn't funny," Lance said, shaking his head in denial. "Allura stop. This isn't funny. Stop this."

"Lance. Lance!" Allura cried, grabbing her brother's shoulders and holding him in place. "It's not a trick. It's real. His mind was stored in a memory core."

Lance was staring at her like a lost child, too scared to believe what he was seeing and hearing. He began shaking his head and attempting to retreat when Allura cupped his face, brushing her thumbs over his scales, sending what calm she could to her brother through the contact.

Lance was hyperventilating. "I finally accepted it," he whispered. "I finally accepted his death. Why wo- Why would you do this to me?"

"Lance," the king said gently, sadness in his old eyes.

"You abandoned us," Lance said in a small voice, squeezing his eyes shut and bowing his head. "You told me to put Allura in the cryopod. I only did that because I thought it was temporary. I wouldn't have done it if I'd known you were planning on leaving us behind."

The holographic memory of King Alfor gazed at his son sadly.

Lance shook his head, refusing to wipe away the tears from his eyes. "Then you threw me in there and I…" He broke away from his sister's gentle grasp and faced his father with all the hurt fury of an abandoned child. "You _left_ us! You _left_ us! Why did you do that? You…" He clenched his fist. "You had no _right_ to do that to us. You didn't even ask us. You didn't give us a _choice!_ Why? _Why?!"_

The memory of Alfor stood before his two surviving children and could not find the right words to say. "Would you believe me if I said I just…" The once great king of Altea broke off under the weight of his child's pain. "I already lost most of children," he said. "I couldn't bear the thought of losing you too."

"Then why didn't you just come with us?" Lance begged, moving towards his father's image. "Why didn't you join us after you hid the Lions and landed the Castle here? You could have. You _could have!"_

"Yes, I could have," Alfor said. "But I would have been dead when you woke."

Lance stilled, pressing his lips together as he stood face-to-face with his Father. "What do you mean?" he demanded.

"I didn't want you to know," the once great king said wearily.

"I want to know," Lance said. "I _need_ to know."

"We both need to know," Allura said, joining her brother. "We deserve to know."

Alfor gazed at his children, proud and heartbroken. "The massacre of your siblings," he began, "my…my children." His voice broke. "I did not escape unscathed.


	22. PART 2 - 22: Flame Out

**A/N:** A bit shorter than I typically prefer my chapters to be but this felt like a good stopping point. I meant to post this on Tuesday night but I literally fell asleep while typing. It's been a long week. It's midterms. Enough said. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Coran gives Keith a crash course in Altean dating culture, Allura introduces Lance to their Father, and a friend turns out to be anything but friendly. **  
**

* * *

 **22: Flame Out**

When Coran return to the hallway where he'd left Keith, he almost felt bad for the red paladin. Keith had somehow climbed up one of the support beams lining the walls and was currently clinging to the illumination crystal casing like his life depended on it. Judging by the ferocity with which Allura's mice were trying to reach him, Keith probably thought his life _did_ depend on it.

"That's enough," Coran said. "I'll deal with him from here."

The mice squeaked and reluctantly scurried away, but not without tossing one last glare at the halfbreed. When they were finally alone, Coran sighed and called up to Keith.

"You can come down now."

"Frak you," the halfbreed snapped angrily. "You sicced those _things_ on me for no reason. I was in the middle of something important, you damn advisor."

"Using your new human curse words doesn't make you sound more intelligent or more compelling," Coran said, placing his hands on his hips. "Now get down here and talk to me like a man, not some scared little child."

Keith bristled. "I'm not a child!" he roared.

"Then get down here and prove it to me," Coran said.

The red paladin bared his teeth, his gold and violet eyes gleaming eerily in the dim hallway. He hopped down to the floor and faced the Altean advisor directly. "I am not a child," Keith growled, enunciating each word clearly.

"Clearly," Coran said. "Children don't have mates."

Keith flushed and sniffed.

"I understand by your culture, you and Lance are mated for life. That's as personal and as permanent as it gets for you," Coran said, staring the red paladin down. "But that's not how it works with Alteans."

"Your culture is dead," Keith grumbled, then stiffened when he realized what he'd just said.

Coran's entire demeanor softened. "To you, maybe," he said. "For you, our planet, our culture, and our culture has been extinct for over 10,000 period. But for myself, Allura, and Lance, it's only been a few cycles since we went to sleep. The Altean language, culture, and traditions live on with us. They may even die with us. But as long as we are alive, we will embrace who we are as a people."

Keith's stance eased from its defensive edge and adopted a guilty expression. "I'm sorry," he said. "That was insensitive."

"Yes it was," Coran said. "But I understand why you said that," he added after a moment. "Nevertheless, I think you should understand that while for you, Marking Lance makes him your mate, in order for Lance to truly see you as _his_ life partner, you have to court _him_." Coran smiled. "If you want to even dream of getting him into your bed, you'll need to court the prince to his sister's satisfaction. If she doesn't approve, you'll live the rest of your life sexless."

Keith paled.

"That said," Coran said, "would you be interested in learning the art of Altean courting?"

Keith shifted from foot to foot awkwardly. No doubt his legs were still in pain from Allura's mice. "Is it hard?" he asked hesitantly.

Coran grinned. "That depends on you really. I can show you how it's done, explain the process, what's expected, and what _not_ to do as well as what you _can_ do and _should_ do."

"That sounds…like a lot."

"If you really see him as your mate, then he should be worth it," Coran said in an off-hand tone. His eyes, however, were shrewd and sharp. "If I recall from my cultural studies of the Galra, they were known for their unbreakable bond with their Marked mates. Nothing came before a Galra and their mate. That still stands true, correct?"

Keith nodded hesitantly. "It does."

"Then making Lance see you in the same way should be your first priority," Coran said simply. He turned and, gesturing for Keith to follow him, made his way back to the main foyer where the Arusians still gathered. "The Galra take one mate only and remain loyal to that mate even after death. Alteans are different. We can love more than one person with the same honesty and tenacity as a Galra. Flirting like the kind Lance often does was considered commonplace in our society. Allura is more restrained and in control of herself due to her standing as a diplomat. Her actions now, had we still been in Altean society, would seem distant, even cold to most people."

"But Lance is my mate," the red paladin argued. "If you Alteans are really as loyal to your mates as you claim, then why does the prince still flirt with the others?"

"Because _you_ may have Marked him as your mate, but he hasn't chosen you as his life partner," Coran explained patiently. He swiped a cup of purple nunvill from one of the passing hoverbots and sipped it calmly.

"But he's _mine,"_ Keith snapped.

"In your eyes and the eyes of your culture, yes he is," Coran agreed.

"But not in yours," Keith said, clenching his fists.

"No," Coran said, sipping his drink. "Normally, Alteans respect the cultures and traditions of other races, but never at the price of going against our own culture and traditions." The advisor aimed his cool gaze at the red paladin next to him. "By skipping the entire courting phase and expecting him to bed you now, you're essentially treating the prince like a prostitute."

Keith stilled, his eyes wide in horror. "But… I never meant-"

"I know you didn't," Coran said gently. "So does Allura and, more importantly, so does Lance." Keith's tense stance eased somewhat. "However," the advisor continued, "that doesn't change the fact that that's what you've done. If you want Lance to see himself as your life partner, then I suggest you court him in proper Altean fashion."

Keith flushed. "How do I do that?" he asked.

Coran's smile grew sly. "I'm so glad you asked," he said. "Listen well, my young student, and if you follow my instructions, you'll have our young prince begging to make you his life partner."

It was a tantalizing offer. "What's the catch?" Keith said suspiciously.

"Swear you won't kiss or make a move on the prince unless he makes the first move," Coran said seriously.

Keith blinked. "We've never kissed," he said. How had he not realized that before.

Coran choked. "You've never kissed?" he cried in dismay. "Not even once? What is wrong with you?"

Keith threw his hands in the air. He just couldn't win.

* * *

"What do you mean?" the princess whispered. "You never took part in the festivities. You couldn't have-"

"He didn't," Lance said, his eyes narrowing. "You didn't," he said louder. "I saw you. You were with Coran. Mother offered to go in your place because Coran needed you to approve the latest upgrades for the Lions."

The former king reached out to brush his translucent fingers over his two living children's faces, his eyes sad. "I'm sorry," he said.

"But you were fine!" Allura cried. "You weren't…bleeding and…" She covered her mouth, fighting back the urge to throw up at the very thought of her siblings' deaths.

Alfor shook his head. "It wasn't something that can be cured," he said slowly. "Old age is something we must all face sooner or later."

"You…" Lance couldn't believe it. "You died of old age?" He stepped away from his father's memory made real and turned away. "So you could have joined us, but _chose_ not to."

"The Lions had to be hidden," Alfor said. "I couldn't risk Zarkon getting his hands on them. The Black Lion may have rejected him, but there was no guarantee he couldn't find a way to force the connection to return."

"Impossible," Allura said. Her eyes sparked with hate and disgust. "The Black Lion rejected him. Once the bond is broken, it can't be healed."

"I hope you're right," the former king said.

"What do you mean by 'you hope?'" Lance said suspiciously.

"The Druids have sided with Zarkon, I understand," Alfor said.

"Yes," Lance confirmed. "According to Keith, the red paladin, the Druids are loyal to no one but Zarkon himself."

Alfor nodded. "Then if Zarkon is still seeking to retrieve the Lions and the Castle, even after all these years, then it would be safe to assume the emperor has found some way to reform the bond by force. If he hasn't found a way yet, then he will."

"So you spent your entire life alone," Allura said, "trying to find a place where we could sleep safely."

"You're my children," Alfor said, a tender smile on his face. "I would do anything for you."

"Except stay with us," Lance muttered.

"Lance," Allura snapped. "Please, not now."

"Then when?" Lance cried. "When were you planning on joining us? Or was that never the plan in the first place?"

The image of the former king of Altea gazed at his son with heartbroken smile. "I understand your pain," he said. "I do. I felt it my entire life as I hid from the Galra, secreting away the Lions. I would often venture to the cryopods and watch you sleep. It took all of my self-control not to wake you up, to hear your voices again, to hold you again. You were always so close, yet just out of reach."

He sighed and bowed his head. "It took ages before it was safe enough for me to land the Castle on Arus," he said. "By then it was too late for me. I was old and ill. I doubt I would have survived the initialization let alone the freezing process."

Lance closed his eyes and turned away. When he opened his eyes again, his breath caught and his eyes grew round. "It can't be," he whispered.

A field of mature juniberry flowers in full bloom spread out from his feet as far as he could see. The red petals and green grass swayed in a strong breeze that rolled over the field from the ravine between the flowering plateau he stood on and the next mountain over. Here the air was thin and light. This was much more familiar than the lower altitude and denser atmosphere of Arus. It was easier to breathe here too.

Home. This was home.

"Altea," Lance whispered, his heart aching with longing.

He barely noticed when he fell to his knees, _felt_ the grass and flower petals brush his hands, _felt_ the winds caress his face, _felt_ his heart ache for what had been lost. Allura sat next to him, plucked a single juniberry flower from the ground, and held it out to her brother. The bright red of the flower petals filled Lance's vision and he took the offering without thinking.

He watched as Allura picked another flower for herself. "It is sad that we can only see the juniberry flower in this place," she said, a wistful smile full of pain on her face. "But perhaps," she lifted her head and met her brother's gaze with her own, "if we come here together, it will make it more real."

Lance swallowed, fighting back his tears. "It's only an illusion," he said, attempting to ground himself. "It's only a dream."

Allura leaned forward and tucked her flower behind Lance's ear. He blushed but did the same, slipping the stem of his flower behind Allura's ear. His sister smiled and cupped his face so his cheeks rested in the palms of her hands and her thumbs rested over his blue scales. He took a deep, unsteady breath and did the same for her. She smiled and they rested their foreheads against one another and just sat there, enjoying each other's company in the tranquility of this lost dream.

Here, in this place, lost in this dream, Lance could feel his father touch on his back. Here, he could be home with his family, what was left of it. Here, he was home. Until it was time to wake up from the dream.

A beeping sound alerted the royal family to the fact a hanger door had opened. Lance blinked and leaned away from his sister's cuddle to look at the ceiling that was temporarily hidden by a crystal clear blue sky.

"Why would one of the hanger doors be opening?" he muttered.

Allura followed her brother's gaze and furrowed her brow in confusion. "I don't know," she said. She looked at their father's image, swallowing morosely. "We should go," she said.

Lance dropped his gaze back to his sister's. He glanced at his father's image, quickly looking away again. "Yeah. Wouldn't want to miss out on a party, after all," he said, forcing a smile on his face.

Allura grimaced but nuzzled Lance's hand when he brushed the pink scale on the corner of her eyes. "Then let's go." She stood, brushing the wrinkles out of her skirt while her brother got to his feet as well. "We'll come back soon, Father," she said.

King Alfor's memory smiled and nodded. "I'll be here," he said.

Lance said nothing. He took his sister's hand and walked towards the exit of the main holodeck with his sister as the Altean flower field vanished in a mist of holographic sparks around them. He tossed one last look at the room from over his shoulder before turning away from the now dark, lifeless room and made his way out of it.

"Let's see why a hanger door would be opened," Allura said, already pulling Lance behind her towards the main control room. "Then we can go back to the party."

"Or we could go to the power chamber," the prince suggested. "It's closer."

The princess considered the option, then shrugged. "Alright then." She flashed her brother a dark smirk. "Eager to get back to your mate?" she teased.

Lance flushed a deep crimson. "I… Maybe. Maybe, I just want to play with the Arusians or eat another one of Hunk's treats."

Allura gave him a look and didn't even bother to argue that pathetic excuse. "You should know," she said, nudging her brother's shoulder playfully, "I plan on making sure you get courted properly."

"What?" Lance gasped in mortification.

"Oh please," Allura groaned. "Don't even imagine I don't know about your little dalliance with your mate earlier this evening." She watched her brother's complexion darken further and her smile became stern. "If you think I'm going to let Keith bed you like some cheap whore-"

"Allura?!"

"-without courting you like a proper suitor, then you're gravely mistaken," Allura continued. She lifted her nose in the air and sniffed.

Lance's mouth hung open in mortification. "Fine," he huffed. "Then you'd better expect to get the same treatment from me when your suitor finally makes his move," he said.

He was pleased to see his sister's face darken but didn't press the issue when they arrived at the power chamber. The huge crystal hanging from its place in the ceiling filled the room with a soft, blue glow that pulsed gently like a heartbeat. Allura let go of her brother's hand to go check one of the panels close to the wall.

Lance glanced over her shoulder at the display curiously. "Which hanger door is it?" he asked. "One of the Lions'?"

Allura shook her head. "No. It's one of the transport pod hangers." She stood back and studied the readouts, bewildered by the information. "Why would someone open the transport pod hanger door?"

"It could be nothing," Lance said, half-heartedly. "Or it could be one of the others wanted some quiet away from the party. The view from up there is amazing at night," he said with a wistful smile.

"Or a pair of Arusians seeking a secret place to have a sultry love affair like a certain other couple I know?" Allura teased, smirking at her brother.

Lance sulked. "You really won't let me live that down, will you?" he grumbled.

The princess just laughed and shut down the panel and skipped out of the room. "Come one," she called from the hallway. "Wouldn't want to keep you mate waiting." She poked her head around the corner and winked and Lance who was lingering by the crystal in a full on sulk.

"Whatever," Lance huffed, soothing his ruffled feathers. He'd have to think of a particularly clever trick to get Allura back for her teasing. A familiar beeping interrupted his plans for justified vengeance.

"Hey Rover," he said absently.

He blinked.

"Wait," pausing and turning back to stare at the reclaimed Galra hoverbot. "Rover?" He watched the green glowing bot fly up towards the power crystal. Rover never left Pidge's side. Ever. So the, "Where's Pidge?"

"Lance?" Allura called, coming back into the room just as the beeping sound increased in speed and pitch. "Lance, are you coming?"

Lance didn't answer her. He could only watch in sudden horror when the hoverbot flashed Galra red. "Allura, get down!" he screamed, turning and pulling his sister close, covering her body with his own.

An instant later, he was blinded by a bright flash of light and deafened by a thunderous boom than shook him to the core. The last thing he remembered was pain, then falling, then nothing.


	23. PART 2 - 23: Cold Realization

**A/N:** Shiro takes the lead in this chapter. I'm going to bed early now because I'm waking up seriously early tomorrow morning. The Canada Snowbird (equivalent to the U.S. Thunderbirds) are in town. They were stopping in Athens for a routine fuel stop on their way to an air show in Brunswick, GA. Unfortunately, the air show was cancelled due to Hurricane Matthew so the Snowbirds hung out in Athens for a week.

They're taking off tomorrow morning at 8:30 to fly back to Saskatchewan, Canada, and I am going to watch. Because I am an aviation nerd. ^_^

Btw, the reason why I compared the Snowbirds to the Thunderbirds instead of the Blue Angels is because no one can match the Blue Angels. They're just too awesome to be beaten by anyone. Yes, I'm biased. No, I don't care. ^_~

 **Chapter summary:** In which Shiro admits to being smitten, stumbles on a horrible sight, and leaves to protect the Arusians from the invading Galra, all according to plan.

* * *

 **23: Cold Realization  
**

Shiro stood on one of the many ancient bridges leading to the Castle from the mainland, observing the Arusians as they darted over the stone. He didn't see anything amiss, but something just felt off. He couldn't explain it. He didn't need to.

Over the years, he'd learned to trust his instincts. One of his professors once said if he felt something was wrong but couldn't explain it, then it probably meant he'd subconsciously witness something unusual but his conscious mind hadn't noticed it. He couldn't remember the professor's name, but he remembered those words.

Still, no matter how hard he tried to see something out of place or hear something that that didn't belong, he came up empty. He simply couldn't find the threat, even though he knew it was there. He huffed in frustration and leaned back against the low stone wall lining the bridge, preventing travelers from falling over the side.

The Castle was beautiful from this perspective. The turquoise glow was soothing and illuminated the ocean far below with a mimicry of moonlight. The stars far above sparkled hopefully. Faint music filtered to Shiro's ears from the party in wafts as the land breeze blew passed, ruffling his hair as it went. It was an altogether calm night.

 _Too calm_ , his mind insisted.

Shiro heaved a sigh and leaned back on the stone ledge, contemplating his mixed up senses, when a beam of light startled him. He looked up the Castle's side and saw a dim, blue-white light shining out from a small hanger door. It was too small and too high up to be one of the Lions' hangers, which meant it was probably a pod hanger.

Pidge was probably preparing to leave. Shiro felt his heart ache. Ever since he'd learned his fellow crew members on the Kerberos mission were Pidge's family, he'd know Pidge was Katie Holt. But since she'd showed no sign of wanting to reveal her identity and gender to the rest of the group, Shiro had kept his knowledge a secret. It wasn't his place to out her.

But he sincerely worried about her. She was a member of Shiro's team and had wormed her way into this small, dysfunctional family that was Team Voltron. It was strange how only a few days, several life threatening situations, and giant Lions uniting to form a Gundam-like weapon could pull people together like this. Everyone was from different places, had different cultures and traditions, but had one thing in common: the Galra Empire had taken something from them.

Even Keith, or Keithek, had managed to endear himself to Shiro. The halfbreed worked hard, spending much of his free time in the training arena. He kept to himself, but after Coran's rather disastrous attempt at team building when everyone's wrists had been bound to each other forcing someone else to feed them, Keith had really begun to speak his mind. He'd begun to talk to Shiro instead of avoiding him like the plague. He'd begun to offer suggestions to Pidge regarding her methods of hacking the Galra technology. He and Hunk had begun to bond over their cultural culinary specialties.

Although, Shiro rarely saw him near Lance unless they were training. The black paladin secretly suspected the princess was behind that. Shiro got the sense Allura wasn't necessarily pleased with Keith mating her brother. From what he'd been able to wrangle out of the surprisingly tight-lipped princess and advisor, Keith had done the Earth equivalent of forcing the young prince into a marriage without any of the flirting, dating, or relationship that comes before that.

Lance never complained about the setup, although granted he'd been a little too exhausted over the past few days to really have the chance to complain. But Shiro had noticed the side glances the prince shot Keith when he thought no one was looking. Shiro suspected Lance was interested in deepening his relationship with Keith, but he simply didn't know how or if he should.

Then there was Allura. She was smart, clever, beautiful, playful, and an altogether magnificent woman. Shiro was smitten and he wasn't sure how he felt about it. He'd had his fair share of dates and girlfriends, some serious, some not. But he'd never considered having a crush on a 10,000-year-old woman from another planet _while_ on another planet and fighting aliens from yet _another_ planet.

Shiro sighed. He was surrounded by enough drama and raw emotion to give a cheesy soap opera a run for its money. At least it was more believable right now than in an episode of those soap operas. Not that Shiro ever watched soap operas. No, never. Absolutely not. And no, Shiro was not blushing. He was just a little…

It was a blustery breeze, okay?

He tipped his head back to watch the stars when a low rumble shook the ground. The bridge shuddered violently just as the Castle's lights flickered and went out. Terrified shouting filled the air as the Arusians fled the from the Castle. Shiro, however, ran towards the Castle. Whatever had happened had slipped past his watch. If anyone had gotten hurt…

Allura.

"What was that?" he demanded, skidding to a stop by Coran and Keith.

"That sounded like an explosion," Hunk said, joining their little group. "It wasn't an explosion right? Please tell me it wasn't an explosion."

"I wish I could," Shiro said grimly.

"It sounded like it came from within the Castle," Coran muttered, eyeing the dark ceiling and the dark lights. "If we've lost power then… Something's happened to the crystal!"

Without another word, the Altean spun and ran out of the foyer and down the side hallway.

"Wait!" Shiro cried.

"Coran!" Hunk called, racing after the advisor with Shiro.

"Pidge, come in," Shiro said into the communicator.

 _"I'm here,"_ Pidge replied. _"What the hell was that? It shook the whole building."_

"There's been an explosion on one of the lower floors of the Castle," Shiro said. "We've lost power. We're on our way to the source with Coran. Keith, could you-" He stopped cold. "Keith?" The red paladin wasn't with them. "Keith!"

"I'll get him," Hunk said. "You follow Coran. We'll join you when Pidge gets down here."

Shiro didn't mention that Pidge may not show up. He simply nodded and turned on his heel to follow after the still retreating Altean. For an old man, Coran could certainly run. However, Shiro was in his prime and easily caught up to the advisor and fell into step next to him. He had an idea of where they were going, but when they rounded a corner and he saw smoke billowing out of the crystal chamber, he picked up his speed.

When he first entered the room, he could barely see a thing. It was almost completely dark. Thankfully, Shiro was wearing his paladin armor. He'd taken to wearing it often because it gave him something familiar to latch on to should he have another PTSD episode. It was also useful and cut down on preparation times during the princess's many surprise training tests.

The crystalline inserts in his armor glowed the now familiar turquoise, illuminating the slowly dissipating smoke. He coughed when he accidentally inhaled the smoke, activating his helmet to cover his entire face and control his air flow. He scanned the area for anything moving. A few seconds later, the smoke near the ceiling began to clear and Shiro looked up to examine the ceiling for any signs of damage.

There was no tell-tale glow of a fire. In fact, there was no glow at all except for what little light was filtering through the fading smoke from the hallway. The giant crystal that hung from the ceiling was dark. Shiro narrowed his eyes and saw that the beautiful crystal was not only dark, it was completely shattered.

"Quiznack," Coran cursed, coughing into his arm. "Without the crystal, we have no power. We'll have to find a Balmera to get another crystal otherwise we'll be stuck here."

"We can take one of the Lions," Shiro said, moving through the smoke.

He felt his feet crunch the debris under his boots as he approached the center of the room. However, he didn't make it far inside before he felt something that didn't give or crunch. In fact, it felt like…a body.

Images of the Galra battling arena flashed across Shiro's memory. He remembered stepping on his opponent's hand, preventing them from reaching their weapon to defend themselves. The thing under his boot now felt like that, but smaller.

He looked down, hoping he wouldn't see what he feared. The air circulation system came to life, sucking the smoke out of the room a little faster and funneling it into the outside environment. With the clearing air, came a clearing view of the chamber floor.

"Allura!" Coran cried, recognizing the cloud of white hair spread across the tiles of the floor.

It had been her hand Shiro was stepping on. Horrified, Shiro moved his foot and fell to his knees by the princess. But her body was bulkier than it should be. He lifted his eyes and followed the form's outline as it came into view.

"Lance," Shiro gasped.

Sure enough, the extra bulk to Allura's body belonged to Lance. The prince was lying on top of the princess's body, covering hers with his own. They were both unconscious. Based on the gashes and burn marks on the prince's back, it was probably for the best that he was unconscious.

"Oh god," Shiro breathed. "We need to get them to healing pods, now."

"We can't," Coran said, resting his thumbs on the colored scales by siblings' eyes. "Without the crystal, the Castle no power whatsoever."

"What goin- _Holy shit!"_

Shiro looked up at the unexpected voice. "Pidge?"

"What happened?" Hunk gasped, appearing next to Pidge.

"Hunk. Where's…" Shiro trailed off when he saw Keith standing behind the yellow paladin.

The red paladin was staring directly at Lance's unmoving body with wide eyes and an unusually pale face. He looked like a ghost. Hunk was gripping Keith's wrist and was breathing a bit harder than normal. Had Hunk dragged Keith all the way here?

"Keith?" Shiro asked. "Are you alright?"

Keith didn't respond right away. It took him a moment to recover from his shock and lift his gaze to the black paladin's. Keith's pupils were blown wide, practically devouring the violet irises and the furred ears were folded back against the halfbreed's head.

"Is he alright?" Keith asked, his voice breathy and unsure. "Is he alive?"

Shiro nodded, but leaned over to take Lance's pulse anyway to reassure both himself and Keith. "He's alive," he said. "Help me."

Keith didn't waste any time. He hurried to Shiro's side and help him ease Lance's body off of Allura's. Hunk knelt by Coran and helped check the princess's vitals.

"How is she?" Shiro asked urgently.

Coran heaved a sigh of relief and nodded. "Alive," he said. He stared at Lance's body still supported by both Shiro and Keith. "Lance must have protected her, taking the brunt of the blast. We need to get him medical attention immediately."

"I've got a few things in my Lion," Pidge said. "I can go get it right now."

"Do that," Shiro said. "Coran, help me get these two to their rooms."

But the advisor shook his head. "The doors won't open," he said. "They're powered by the crystal. Without it," Coran looked up at the destroyed structure on the ceiling, "the doors will remain locked. It's a safety feature added when the royal family was attacked at the start of the Great War."

Shiro clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"What about the lounge?" Hunk asked. "It doesn't have any doors. It's just a common room."

"Good idea," Shiro said. "Pidge, meet us at the lounge with the medical equipment."

"On it," the green paladin chirped and booked it down the hall to the Green Lion's hanger.

"The doors to the Lions' hangers should be closed," Coran wondered aloud. "How did-"

"The air vents," Keith said, speak up finally. He pulled Lance towards him until the prince was resting fully in his arms. "Pidge went through the air vents."

"Lance'll be fine, Keith," Shiro said, placing a gentle hand on the still stunned halfbreed's shoulder. He smiled when the dark eyes focused on him. "We'll make sure of it. Come on."

Keith gulped but nodded. He took a moment to adjust his grip on his unconscious mate before standing. Lance's head lolled forward so it rested against the crease of Keith's arm and chest.

"I've got Allura," Shiro said, taking the princess from Coran's arms and standing.

"What about the Arusians?" Hunk asked worriedly. "We just kind of left them."

"I think we're about to find out," Coran said, pointing at a large Arusian running down the hall towards them.

"Great warriors!" the Arusian cried. "Our village is under attack. Will you help us?"

"Damn," Shiro muttered. He glanced down at the princess in his arms, trying to decide what to do. The next moment, he was staring into the loveliest pair of blue-violet eyes he'd ever seen. "Allura!"

"You're awake?" Hunk gasped.

"Princess!" Coran cried, tears brimming his eyes dramatically.

"Are you alright?" Shiro asked.

Allura blinked a couple times and shook her head before struggling to free herself from Shiro's arms. The black paladin gently helped her stand, holding her arm to be sure she had her balance.

"I'm fine," she said, sounding a bit winded. "Lance. Lance!" She whirled around, looking for her brother. When she saw Lance's body limp in Keith's arms, she gasped and ran to him. "Is he alright?" she demanded. "He's not… He's not-"

"He's alive," Keith said, cautiously pulling Lance closer to himself protectively.

"What about our village?"

"What?" Allura asked, turning to the Arusian. "What's going on?" She placed a hand on her temple, rubbing it gingerly. "What did I miss?"

"There was an explosion in the crystal chamber," Coran said. "Lance protected you."

Allura's eyes saddened. "I know," she said softly. "Idiot." She drew herself up so she appeared every inch the princess she was. "I mean now though. What's happening now? What about your village?" she asked the Arusian.

"Metal soldiers are attacking it," the Arusian said. "Please, will you not help us?"

"Galra," Shiro growled.

The princess grimaced. "We will help you," she said firmly. "The crystal," she said, turning to Coran. "Was it-"

"Destroyed, I'm afraid," he said grimly. "We'll need to find a Balmera to replace it."

Allura bit her lip. "Where's Pidge?" she asked suddenly.

"He's getting the first aid equipment from his Lion," Hunk said.

"Good."

"What do you want us to do?" Shiro asked her, respecting her authority.

"Several moments later, the princess hardener her eyes. "Alright. Coran, use one of the pods to scan for a Balmera. If you find one, your first priority is to retrieve a crystal. Shiro, Keith, you two come with me to the Arusian village."

"Right away," Coran said. "Hunk, you're with me. I'll need someone big to help carry the crystal once we find it."

"Gotcha," Hunk said.

"The pods shouldn't be too protected," Coran said thoughtfully.

"Pidge may be able to help you with that," Shiro said.

"Right. Come on Hunk," the Altean advisor said briskly before hurrying down the hall followed closely by the yellow paladin.

"How are we going to get to the pods?" Hunk called. "I can't fit in those vents like Pidge, you know."

"Princess, you just woke up," Shiro said. "You should stay here with Lance. Let me and Keith take care of the Galra sentries."

"I'm fine," Allura said, mildly irritated. "I'm not a piece of glass."

"No, but you were unconscious after experiencing an explosion in close proximity," Shiro countered. "You probably have a concussion."

"Then if I have a concussion, I should remain awake and in the company of others to be sure I remain in good health, correct?" Allura countered.

Shiro winced and slumped, unable to form a decent argument. "Fine. Bu-"

"I'm not leaving him," Keith said.

Shiro and Allura turned to Keith who stood holding Lance close to his chest. "I'm not leaving him," Keith said again.

"Pidge can keep an eye on him while we check the Arusian village," Shiro said. "We'll need your help there more than here."

"I'm not leaving him," Keith insisted.

"Keith," Allura said sternly, gathering her hair up in a messy bun. "I understand what you're feeling right now. Believe me, I do. But Pidge is coming back with medical supplies. Lance will be fine for now." Her eyes gleamed and she smiled cruelly. "In the meantime, I need your help making sure the Galra are taken care of so they can't hurt Lance again. Will you help me do that?"

Keith's eyes widened. He hesitated, gazing down at Lance's sleeping face. He tightened his grip on his mate's body. "Alright," he said eventually. "I'll go with you. But only after I make sure he's taken care of."

"Naturally," Allura agreed. "This way. Chief," she said to the Arusian. "We will come to your aid as quickly as we can."

"Thank you great Goddess," the little alien said, rushing back to where his people presumable waited.

"I'm not a goddess," Allura muttered.

* * *

"Pidge? I thought you said you were getting the stuff from your Lion," Hunk said when he saw Pidge scramble out of an air vent from the pod bay.

The green paladin flushed. "I forgot I'd moved it," he said awkwardly. "Why are you here?"

"We're going to take one of the pods to get a new crystal to power the Castle," Coran said, pushing himself into the air vent Pidge just vacated. "Without it we can't heal Lance or power the defenses."

"Damn," Pidge muttered, watching as Hunk wriggled through the air vent.

How the yellow paladin was able to fit in there was beyond Pidge. But it was amusing to watch Hunk wriggle around in there like a fish or a demented snake. Finally, he rolled his eyes and launched himself at Hunk's butt. The extra force caused Hunk to pop out of the other side of the vent in the pod bay.

"Take the pod by the hanger door," Pidge called through the vent. "It's already prepped for launch and has some rations in there."

"Why's a pod prepped for launch?" Coran asked in confusion.

"I made some upgrades to it too," Pidge said, avoiding Ciran's question. "I was able to reverse engineer the invisibility function from the invisible maze so you'll have a few minutes of cloaking. There are a couple other things, but don't worry. Just get the crystal and get back here ASAP."

"Right," Coran said.

"Thanks Pidge," Hunk yelled through the vent. "You're awesome."

Pidge pursed his lips and ran back to the lounge where Lance would be. If only Hunk knew how un-awesome he'd been before this mess began.

* * *

Keithek stared at his mate's face. Lance lay on the bench in the lounge they had occupied just this morning looking horrible. His face was covered in soot and dried blood caked the back of his shirt. Just the thought of leaving Lance behind in such a vulnerable state was a physical pain in his chest. But the princess was right. It would be best to make sure the threat was eliminated while Pidge took care of Lance. The healing pods were out of the question at the moment.

There really was no other choice.

He'd known the moment something had happened to Lance. He'd heard stories about Galra sensing when their mates were in extreme pain or died. He'd known about the phenomenon, but he'd never known it would be so intense. It was one thing to know something; it was another thing to experience it. It had felt like someone had punched him in the gut without warning.

It had terrified him and left him stunned. He'd barely noticed when Hunk came back for him and pulled him to the crystal chamber. Only the sight of Lance lying face down on top of Allura, his arms wrapped around her body protectively, had snapped Keith out of his stupor. All he could think about was Lance.

Make sure Lance was alive. Make sure Lance was alright. Make sure Lance was taken care of. Make sure Lance was safe.

"Keith," Allura called from the open doorway. She was dressed in her armored flight suit and looked very much ready to fight just like the rest of them. The soot covering her face was like war paint. "Let's go," she commanded.

Keith turned back to Lance, brushing the prince's short brown hair out of his face and placed a hesitant kiss on the Altean's forehead. He'd never kissed anyone before and this wasn't what he imagined his first kiss would be like. Was it even a first kiss since it wasn't on the lips? He considered kissing Lance's lips for a tick before remembering Coran's lecture on Altean courting traditions. Best not.

He stood and raced to Princess Allura's side, pulling on his helmet and drawing his bayard. The faster he dealt with the renegade Galra who attacked the Castle and now the Arusians, the faster he could get back to Lance without worry. The faster Lance would be kept safe.

He had no way of knowing he would regret leaving Lance now for the rest of his life.

* * *

"What did I tell you?" Haxus said, surveying the empty entryway proudly.

"I never doubted you Haxus," Sendak said. "There's a reason I appointed you my second in command."

"And I live to honor that position," Haxus answered. "You," he said to one of the automated sentries, "take the crystal and come with me. We should have the particle barrier up and the Castle ready for launch shortly, Commander Sendak."

"Excellent," the Galra commander purred. He strode confidently through the entryway and up the main stairway in the foyer towards the bridge. "Have two of the sentries search the premises in case some of the inhabitants lingered."

"Should they capture them or-"

"Kill them," Sendak said. "Unless you find the halfbreed or the prince. If you find either of them, bring them to me."

"As you command."


	24. PART 2 - 24: Frost on the Wing

**A/N:** I. Am. Exhausted. I have literally be awake and running since 6am this morning. That's a total of 16 hours as of now (10pm). As of tonight, I'll have been without my sleep meds for 2 nights in a row. That means I'll be waking up another 4-5 times every two hours for no obvious reason. Hopefully, I'll be so exhausted that I'll fall asleep easier when I get back to my apartment. I need to sleep and STAY ASLEEP!

That said, I got to see the Canada Snowbirds take off from the local airport this morning between 8:15-9:30 this morning. It was totally worth it. I'd woken up at 6 even though my alarm was set for 7. So I just went ahead and got up because what the hell. I wasn't going to fall asleep again. Watching the jets take off was a nice way to start my day though. I spammed FB with photos and videos of them.

They trolled the airport and Athens. I'm a grad student at the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens and our mascot is the bulldog. We have bulldog statues literally everywhere. There's even a big one at the airport and a smaller one by the door leading from the tarmac into the airport lobby. It's small and wearing a read shirt (our colors are red and black). The Snowbirds put a sticker with their emblem on the bulldog's shirt and it's hilarious.

Look at me. I'm so tired, I'm rambling, and making airplane puns in my chapter titles.

I need to sleep. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Hunk is excited because SCIENCE and promptly gets sick, Pidge is glad to be short for once, and Keith does not handle things well. Neither does Lance.

* * *

 **24: Frost on the Wing  
**

"It's a good thing Pidge left the hanger door open," Coran said, closing the pod roof and prepping the vehicle for launch. "Although I do wonder what Pidge was planning to do with all this supplies."

"Yeah," Hunk muttered, eyeing the bag of snacks and thermoses of water. "I wonder."

"That's not important right now," the Altean said, taking control of the pod. "We need to start scanning for a Balmera."

"I thought the scanners on the pods weren't as powerful as the Castle's," Hunk said.

"They aren't," Coran said, starting the engine and taking off. "That's why we need to get out of the planet's atmosphere to start scanning. Our range is limited but hopefully, we can get a clear enough image of the nearby space to figure out where to start looking."

"Right."

Hunk buckled his seat belt and gripped the sides of his chair in preparation for a rough ride. He was surprised when the pod rose from the Castle's hanger floor and flew smoothly through the door. They only experienced turbulence when they started ascending through the planet's atmosphere. It was rough, but nowhere near as bad as flying with Lance.

Hunk hardly felt sick at all. Okay, so he felt a little nauseous during the ascent through the atmosphere, but he was fine afterwards. Whatever the aliens used for their artificial gravity also helped ease the G-forces that would normally be pulling and pushing at his body. The forces were still there, but they were nowhere near as powerful.

In fact, now that he thought about it, he could move in the Yellow Lion's cockpit easier than he could in the Castle or on Earth. Actually, he could move in the pod easily too. He felt…lighter. Was it possible that the gravity to Alteans were used to wasn't as strong as Earth's?

Oh great. Now he wanted a scale to weigh himself. He knew he was on the heavy side, but maybe he was lighter now. That would be an interesting experience; not necessarily a bad one either. Maybe he could even do a few experiments to see exactly how much more powerful the Earth's gravity was to what the Alteans were used to.

Who knows. Maybe he could even figure out if the atmosphere was thinner or thicker than Earth's. Although, if the Altean's gravity was weaker, it would be a safe bet to assume their atmosphere was thinner as well.

"Found one!" Coran crowed.

"Woah," Hunk gasped. "Already?"

Coran excitedly entered the coordinates for the Balmera into the pod's computer. "It's a fair distance, but nothing this pod can't handle," Coran said. "Hopefully, we can get there, get a crystal, and get back to Arus within a day."

"Um, is that realistic or optimistic?" Hunk asked hesitantly.

"Ridiculously optimistic," Coran said plainly.

"Oh." Hunk's hopes sank.

"But we have to be optimistic right now," the advisor said firmly, gripping the controls and pushing them forward. "We need to get back in time to help Lance."

Well, yeah, there was that.

"Luckily," Coran continued, pressing several buttons on the pod's dashboard, "Altean pods can use a slipstream."

"You mean like what the Galra use?" Hunk asked. "The warp drive or hyperdrive thing?"

"I'm not sure what those are," Coran said, looking at Hunk with a completely clueless expression. He flipped a switch and gripped the control yoke just as the pod's slipstream activated. "A slipstream essentially uses quintessence to create a fold in the fabric of space-time. This causes the point of origin and the destination to become closer than they actually are in normal space-time. That fold is what we call the 'slipstream.'"

The pod shuddered as it traversed the fold in space-time. Now Hunk was feeling a bit sick.

"Normally," Coran continued, oblivious to his passenger's growing discomfort, "we wouldn't even bother using a slipstream. We would just a wormhole created by the Castle. But since the Castle has no power, slipstream it is."

"I though a wormhole was a fold in space-," he coughed, "time." Oh no. Oh no, oh no, ohnnoohnoonoohno….

"It is," Coran said cheerfully. "It's a perfected form of the fold. The slipstream is a rough version."

Rough. Nonononononononono…

"But it still does the trick," Coran chirped. "Since it's not a wormhole, the travel time is longer and the travel is a bit uncomfortable-"

Uncomfortaaaabble…. Why?

"-but it still gets us from the beginning to the end fast enough," the Altean said with a merry smile. "Of course, the slipstream created by the pod isn't anywhere near as powerful or as fast and efficient as the Galran slipstream, but it'll do. It's all we've got at the moment after all."

He flashed his passenger a merry smile and paused. "Hunk," he said. "Are you alright? You look a little green." He laughed. "If you wanted to be the green paladin, I'm afraid that position's taken."

Hunk tried. He really did.

Nope. He clamped his hand over his mouth, fighting back the bile that flooded his mouth.

Coran paled."No," he said. "Hunk. Hold it in just s bit longer. We're almost there. Please, please, please, please, _please!"_

* * *

Pidge was making his way to the lounge with the case of medical supplies when a low rumble echoed through the Castle. Rover stopped by Pidge's shoulder and beeped at him. It wasn't an explosion. I actually sounded like the Castle's power was coming back online. But how could…

The lights along the walls turned on and Pidge flinched, staring at the colors orbs in growing unease. The lights weren't the familiar turquoise that lit the hallways in a soothing glow. They were purple and weren't anywhere near as bright. Pidge was beginning to suspect this wasn't a good thing.

A second later, the sound of metal tramping down the Castle's hallway met the green paladin's ears. Rover beeped urgently and Pidge flinched. That didn't sound like the princess or even Shiro's footsteps. In fact, it didn't sound familiar at all. Alarm bells jangled in Pidge's head, sounding a warning the green paladin was unable to ignore.

He quickly scoured the hallway walls until he noticed an air vent nearby. He dove for the vent, wriggling the slatted covering off and climbing into the vent. He was halfway inside when he remembered the medical kit. Cursing, he squirmed in the vent trying to turn around so he faced the vent opening. Now was one of the few times he was relieved to be as small as he was.

He just barely managed to snatch the medical kit, yank it into the vent, and wave Rover into the vent as well before fitting the vent cover back into place. Pidge covered Rover with his body to hide the hoverbot's tell-tale green glow from shining through the vent. Not a couple seconds later, the metal footsteps turned the corner and stalked in front of the vent. Pidge watched the legs pass by the air vent in dawning horror. They were robots, similar to the training gladiators but a cold gray in color. Pidge tried to look up through the slats to see the robots' heads. It was difficult to make out, but the green paladin noticed red line of inanimate light where the robots' eyes should be.

Were these Galra sentries? But how? How could the Galra enter the Castle? Where were the others? Why was no one stopping them?

Pidge figured the explosion was caused by the Galra, but he'd never expected the Galra to actually enter the Castle. This seemed more like a bait-and-switch. If that was true, that meant the whole thing was a trap: the explosion, forcing the group to split up, and dismantling the Castle's defenses. Damn it! They'd taken the bait hook, line, and sinker. How did they not see this coming?

Wait. If this was take-over, which Pidge highly suspected it was, and no one had stopped them, then that meant everyone was gone. Coran and Hunk had taken the pod Pidge had loaded up and upgraded for his attempt to find his family on his own. It had been a selfish move, but in the end it had proven useful. Shiro and Keith should be in the lounge with Allura and Lance. Why hadn't they done anything to stop this?

What if they didn't know? Keith probably wouldn't leave Lance's side and Pidge doubted Shiro would willingly leave Allura alone. That meant something else had happened. The Arusians. Someone may have gone to help the Arusians. But that didn't make sense because Pidge hadn't heard anything over his communicator. What was going on?

The metal footsteps faded and Pidge released his pent up breath in a relieved gust. Rover beeped softly in what sounded like a question. Pidge just had to get to Lance and Allura in the lounge. Then he'd get the answers he need..ed…

The sentries were heading towards the lounge.

Pidge bit back a curse and cautiously worked the vent cover off and crawled out of the semi-tight space. He replaced the vent cover and made his way down the hall after the metal robots. He slowed when he reached the last curve before arriving at the lounge and peaked around the corner. Rover peered over Pidge's shoulder into the room as well.

"Rover," Pidge whispered. The hoverbot turned its camera to him. "Record this," he commanded. Hopefully, this wouldn't be needed. But just in case. "If anything happens to me, get out of here. Get this to Shiro or Allura. If you can't find them, get it to someone who can help. Understood?"

Rover beeped and Pidge nodded. Together, they looked around the corner again and watched. The lounge was empty. Pidge breathed a sigh of relief. Shiro or Keith must have learned of the attack and moved to a safer location with Allura and Lance. But why hadn't they contacted Pidge about the change in plans? Unless the comms weren't secured; or worse, they weren't working at all. If it was the latter, then that meant Pidge was completely cut off.

He bit his thumb nail, considering his options. He could attempt to contact Shiro or Keith, but that could give away his position in the Castle. This wasn't exactly the most ideal situation to try that.

"We have a prisoner," a mechanical voice said, startling Pidge from his thoughts.

"What race?" a distinctly unfamiliar voice said over the Castle speakers.

Damn it. Were the Galra completely in control of the Castle?

"Altean," the robotic voice replied. "Male."

 _Lance!_ Pidge realized. _Why was Lance alone? Why weren't Shiro and Keith with him. What about Allura? Why wasn't she there too?_

"Good," the Galra over the Castle's speakers said, sounding immensely pleased. "Incapacitate him and bring him to the bridge."

"He's already incapacitated," came the unfeeling reply.

"Even better," the Galra said. "Bring him here. I want him alive."

"Vrepit sa."

 _Vrepit what?_

Pidge peered around the corner, doing his best to remain unnoticed. He gasped when one of the robots lifted Lance from the couch and slung him indelicately over its shoulder. The prince was still unconscious. Considering how uncomfortable he would probably be in given the position the robot held him, Pidge counted it a small blessing. Unfortunately, Lance being unconscious meant he couldn't fight or defend himself. Had Lance been awake and fully aware, Pidge knew he would've given the sentries a nasty fight.

But he wasn't conscious and no one else was here. It was just Pidge and Rover. Pidge's armor and bayard were in his bedroom and Pidge suspected Lance's bayard was in the prince's room too. In order to get them, Pidge would have to leave Lance alone with the Galra. Who knows what they would do with him. The green paladin had no idea what to do.

The robots turned and began making their way back down the hallway Pidge was in. Pidge quickly made his way back to the air vent he'd hidden in before to wait them out. He watched helplessly as the Galra sentries walked passed him, Lance's body dangling uselessly over one of their shoulders.

Pidge could probably take them if he'd had his bayard. He needed his bayard right now more than anything. He knew the Galra controlling the Castle's speakers had ordered the sentries to take Lance to the bridge. Pidge sort of remembered how to get there through the vents. Lance had taken great pleasure in showing the green paladin how to sneak around the vent system. Why not use that knowledge now to his advantage?

Pidge eyed the medical kit worriedly for a moment before deciding to leave it behind. It would just slow him down. He would make do if he got to Lance. The Galra seemed to want him alive. Hopefully, they would keep him that way long enough for Pidge to get his bayard. While he was at it, he might as well get Lance's bayard too. Their bedrooms were relatively close after all.

Pidge backed down the air vent until it reached a junction and sat up. The inner vents were larger for ease of access, probably for maintenance workers. The larger vents were just large enough for Pidge to sit upright in them and crawl on his hands and knees with ease. He took a moment to orient himself in his mental map of the Castle's vents. He hadn't been able to memorize them all, but he remembered enough to figure out which way to go from here. It was a start.

* * *

"This doesn't make sense," Keithek muttered, studying the sentries twitching and sparking on the ground.

"You're right," Shiro agreed, stomping on the nearest sentry's head when the light on the helmet didn't go out right away. "It was almost too easy."

The princess glared at the Arusian village and the few sentries lying on the ground. "At least they didn't do much damage," she said in relief.

"Many thanks, great Lion Goddess," the Arusian chief said, bowing to her.

Allura rolled her eyes and grumbled, "I'm not a goddess." She turned to her black and red paladins in concern. "I agree though. This was much too easy to deal with. These are just sentries. There aren't any real Galra here."

"Right," Shiro agreed. "Sentries don't have the capability to set an explosion and do this at the same time. They just drones. They're useless without someone in command. Unless…" He whirled to the Castle in horror. "Shit. It's a trap!"

Keithek's eyes grew round and he turned back to the Castle, his ears folding back against his head. The Castle lit the night once more, power returned to it. But it wasn't Altean blue, it was the reddish-purple preferred by the Galra.

"No," Allura breathed. "Lance."

 _Lance!_

 _"No!"_ Keithek cried, racing down the path from the Arusian village to the Castle. He could hear the princess and Shiro close behind him but they weren't important. Only Lance was important. He'd left Lance alone in the Castle unwatched, unguarded. He'd failed to protect his mate. He had to get back to Lance. He _had_ to.

He was so close. So close.

When something purple appeared in front of him, he couldn't stop in time. He didn't _want_ to stop. He slammed into the purple barrier, screaming when a sharp shock jolted through his body, tossing him back to the ground.

"Keith!" Shiro cried, crouching to help the red paladin up. "You alright?"

"They raised the barrier," Allura said, staring at the purple scale pattern of the Castle's particle barrier. "The Galra have the Castle. Lance." Her face hardened in fury. "They planned this," she growled, clenching her fists. "They had to have a crystal ready for this. This wasn't an impulse attack."

"I agree," Shiro said. "They had to have planned this- Keith _stop!"_

"Let go!" Keith roared, throwing himself against the barrier. "I have to get to him. I have to get to Lance. Lance. _Lance!"_

"Stop!" Shiro shouted, wrapping his arms around the halfbreed's body, pinning Keithek's arms to his side and preventing him from escaping. "You'll just hurt yourself."

"No," Keithek said. "Let me go. Let _go!_ _LANCE!"_

"Keith!"

Keithek stilled at the princess's command, but shot her a vicious glare. "How _dare_ you try to stop me!" he snapped. "He's my _mate!"_

"I know," Allura said, meeting Keithek's glare with one of her own that was just as formidable. "I'm not going to stop you from getting to Lance. But throwing yourself against an active particle isn't going to do anything. It'll just end up hurting you and leaving you useless to me _and_ Lance."

Keithek calmed, enough for Shiro to hesitantly release his hold, but continued to glare at the princess. "Then what do you expect me to do? Nothing?" he demanded.

"Hardly," Allura snapped. She grinned. "I expect you to help me find a way to get back in there. He's my brother too, remember."

Keithek relaxed his stance. Allura was right. Lance may be his mate but he was also Allura's brother. It made sense for her to want to get her brother back.

"Fine," he agreed. "What should we do?"

"I suggest we hide," Shiro said, staring up at the Castle. "We're sitting ducks out here without protection."

"Sitting what?" Keithek asked. "What's a duck?"

"Right," Allura said. "We can go back to the Arusian village-"

"No need," Shiro said. "Follow me." He made his way to the stone railing along the bridge and climbed over it, gesturing for the princess and Keithek to join him. "There's a ledge underneath here. We can hide and plan our counterattack from here."

Allura snapped out of her surprise quickly. "Right." She climbed over the railing without hesitation.

Keithek had to marvel at her courage. These bridges were easily several hundred spans above the ground. This wasn't the highest bridge, but it wasn't the lowest of the bunch either. Even he was a bit hesitant about climbing over the edge without any safety fall-backs. But if it meant he had a better chance of getting back to Lance, then he would do it. His mate was worth it.

* * *

It hurt. Everywhere hurt. But his back hurt the most. Quiznack. He was seriously getting annoyed with constantly waking up in pain. First it was with a headache in front of Zarkon as a prisoner, the it was from muscle aches after hours of Allura's laborious training, and now this. How did this happen again?

He tried to remember what would make his back so bad. He wasn't nearly old enough for back pain. Well, not physically anyway. He grumbled and rolled over onto his side…

…and _immediately regretted it!_

He cried out as something sharp dug into his back from the new angle, compounded by his arms being held in such an awkward position behind him. Behind him?

He opened his eyes and tried to turn his head to see what was holding his arms back. He tugged his arms but was met by harsh resistance by something wrapped around his wrists. What? What was going on?

"Ah, finally awake I see."

He froze. Why? Why was he hearing that voice here? He should be in the Castle with Allura.

Allura!

The hoverbot that wasn't Rover. The explosion. The pain. Allura's face, so frightened. Was she alright? Where was she?

Oh quiznack. Did the Galra find her? Did they know?

He lifted his eyes from his position on the floor and saw the one person who should not be here. Why did this kind of thing keep happening?

"Sendak," he breathed.

"Your highness," the Galra commander leered.


	25. PART 2 - 25: A-maze-ing Temerity

**A/N:** A mid-day update? What is this blasphemy? This is to make up for not updating last night. I literally fell asleep while writing. Oops. So here's the update shat should've been up last night with a suitably pun-ishing title. XD Enjoy. The next chapter should be up tonight as usual. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Pidge is master of mazes, rover is stronger than it looks, and Lance enjoys testing his captor's self-control. **  
**

* * *

 **25: A-maze-ing Temerity  
**

He could hear the steady thrum of power through the tunnel walls. Even with his armor on, the embedded crystals glowing the soft turquoise he'd come to find soothing, he could feel the subtle vibrations as the Castle's power increased. Something was happening. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

But was it worth the risk of asking for help? What if it got worse? What if 'worse' was actually too late? What if 'worse' wasn't too late and he ended up giving away his position in the Castle? Right now, he had the element of surprise on his side. If he asked for help, he would very likely lose that secret weapon.

So again, was it worth the risk?

Shit. Yeah, it was.

"Shiro," he said softly into his communicator. "Keith. Can you hear me? A-"

 _"Pidge!"_ came Keith's startled reply _. "Jurt! Is that you?"_

 _"Pidge,"_ Shiro said _. "Where are you?"_

"I'm inside the Castle," Pidge said. "Where are you guys? You were supposed to be with Lance."

There was a faint keening sound over the communicator that Pidge vaguely recognized as Keith. That's right. Keith and Lance were mates. Pidge would bet money Keith wasn't handling the situation very well.

 _"We're outside,"_ Shiro said. _"The Galra attacked the Arusian village."_

"It was a trap wasn't it?" Pidge grumbled.

 _"Yeah,"_ Shiro said, sounding vaguely put out. _"We can't get back in. The Galra have infiltrated the Castle. They raised the particle barrier."_

"They did more than that," Pidge said, glancing at Rover hovering loyally by his shoulder. "They got Lance." Keith's keening came through Pidge's speaker again and he winced. "I take it Keith's not taking this too well."

 _"None of us are,"_ came Allura's voice morosely.

"Al-" Nope. Can't use her name. If the Galra could hear this transmission, then it was best to use a cover name. Shit. Oh well. Hopefully Shiro would catch on. "Katie!" Pidge said. "Are you with Shiro and Keith?"

 _"Katie?"_ the princess repeated in confusion.

 _"Yes she is!"_ Shiro said over Allura. Pidge let out a huge breath in relief _. "We're all here. Looks like you're the only one inside."_

 _"R-right,"_ Allura said _. "We're hiding out right now. From the sound of it, the Galra are trying to launch the Castle."_

"Is that what they're doing?" Pidge asked. "I wasn't sure."

 _"Listen, Pidge,"_ Allura said. _"If they are planning to take off, then we have to stop them before they finish powering up the primary turbine. I need you to get down to the main engine room and disconnect the primary the turbine from the crystal chamber. If you do that, then it'll force the Galra to reset to system by hand. That should buy us some time to figure out a way back in and fix this situation."_

"Gotcha. I'm in an air vent right now," Pidge said, glancing at his surroundings. "I'm not 100% familiar with the vent tunnels."

 _"That's fine,"_ Allura said. _"Lance and I used to play in them. I know them better than he does. I can guide you. How did you get to where you are right now?"_

"I got in from the vent in the hallway between the lounge and the emergency stairs by the lift to the pod hanger bay," Pidge said.

 _"Was the vent closer to the lift or closer to the lounge?"_

"The lift," Pidge said.

 _"Alright. Did you take any turns after you got in?"_

Pidge shook his head, belatedly remembering the princess couldn't see him. "No," he said aloud. "I climbed straight down the tunnel to the first junction."

 _"Good,"_ Allura said _. "Is there a ladder along the side of the tunnel going down from the junction?"_

Pidge leaned over the side of the tunnel he sat in and answered. "Yeah. You want me to go down?"

 _"Yes. Go down,"_ Allura commanded _. "Go straight through the first three major junctions then take one of the vents going left."_

"Got it," Pidge said. "I'll call you when I get there."

Pidge maneuvered himself carefully over the edge of the vent he sat in and put his booted foot on one of the rungs of the ladder in the vent going down. He would have to be careful to keep a firm grip on the rungs. The only light he had were the turquoise from the crystals in his armor and the green from the crevasses in Rover's metal casing. Rover beeped and flew down so it hovered under Pidge's feet, lighting the way.

"Thanks Rover," Pidge said, smiling at his little friend.

Rover beeped back cheerfully and continued to light Pidge's way. It took a few minutes for Pidge to finish climbing down to the third major junction. He would have to turn left from here. Thing is, there were several vents heading left. Also, which direction was the 'left' Allura meant.

"Hey Katie," Pidge said into his communicator.

 _"I'm here Pidge,"_ Allura said after a moment. She must've forgotten Pidge was using a different name for her. _"Are you at the third junction?"_

"Yeah," the green paladin said. "Um, which direction is 'left'?"

 _"Are you facing the ladder you just climbed down?"_ the princess asked. She sounded strained, probably trying to visualize what Pidge was seeing.

"Yeah," Pidge said. "There are three vents to my left, they're all different sizes and I'm not sure which one to take."

 _"Alright. The one to the far left should be the largest of the three."_

"It is."

 _"Good. Take that one,"_ the princess commanded _. "The larger vents lead to the main engine room. It's how the Castle heats the rooms and keeps the engine cool. The air circulation system is mechanical. It doesn't need power to work. The force of the air keeps it working."_

"So follow the larger tunnels and hot air," Pidge muttered. "Right. Makes sense."

 _"Was he awake?"_ Keith asked suddenly.

"What?" Pidge asked, halting his movements in surprise. "Was who awake?"

 _"L-lance,"_ Keith said _. "When they took him. Was he awake?"_

"No, he wasn't," Pidge said softly, pulling himself up into the large tunnel heading left. "He was still unconscious."

 _"I shouldn't have left him,"_ Keith moaned.

 _"We'll get him back, Keith,"_ Shiro said gently. Pidge pictured the black paladin patting the Galra halfbreed on the back comfortingly _. "Don't worry."_

 _"Who took him?"_ Keith demanded viciously, startling Pidge.

"Uh, they were sentries I think," Pidge said. "Robots. There was a real Galra over the intercom though."

 _"Did you hear any names?"_ Keith pressed _. "Any at all? Did you hear 'Sendak' or 'Haxus' by any chance?"_

"No," Pidge replied, hardening his eyes as he crawled through the tunnel. It was slightly slanted down, but not enough to make it difficult to keep his balance. "I'll keep an ear open for names, though. If I hear any, I'll let you know."

 _"Good,"_ the red paladin growled _. "I need to know whose throat to rip out."_

 _"If you get to him first,"_ Allura said darkly.

 _"I will,"_ Keith promised.

 _"In this case,"_ Shiro said, cutting off the argument before it had a chance to begin, _"I think we should get back inside before killing anyone. That said, I'll hold him down so you two can take this Galra out."_

Keith made a purring sound and Allura snickered _. "I can go with that,"_ the princess said.

"You guys are insane," Pidge said smirking. "I like it." Rover beeped and Pidge noticed he was at another junction. The largest tunnel was to the left but angled downward at a sharper slope than the one Pidge currently sat in. Thankfully there was a ladder along the lower side for ease of access. "Keep taking the larger tunnels, right Katie?" he asked as he turned himself around before stretching out a foot for the closest rung.

 _"Yes,"_ Allura replied.

Pidge grunted as he pushed himself over the gaping tunnel heading directly down in the middle of the junction. His foot slipped and he gave a startled cry. Then his ankle hit something hard and angular. Pidge ducked his head and stared down at his foot between his body and the tunnel floor. Rover beeped at him, holding Pidge's foot balanced on its angular top.

"Thanks Rover," Pidge said.

* * *

Lance glared at the Galra looming over him. "I didn't think you were so eager to get spit at again," he said.

Sendak bared his teeth.

"Careful Sendak," Lance warned. "Your grand master saw you punch me once." He grinned. "You'll have to save that punch for when you're really angry."

"Assuming the emperor still wants you," Sendak said, turning on his heel to study the control panels in the crystal chamber.

"I'm alive," Lance said, shifting so his back didn't hurt as bad. "You would have killed me already if your emperor didn't still want me alive."

"You have a high opinion of yourself," the Galra commander said mildly. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe I wanted you for my own purposes?"

Lance flinched. It had, but he'd disregarded it. Unless Sendak reported him dead, there was no reason for the emperor to not want him. Zarkon suspected the Lions were tied to Lance. If Zarkon wanted the Lions functioning properly, then he would need Lance to stay alive.

"You're lying," Lance said.

"Perhaps," the Galra said. "But do you know for sure if I am or not?"

No.

Sendak chuckled. "You have a lot of bark, little prince," he said in amusement. "But I have yet to see your bite."

"I spit in your face last time we saw each other," the prince ventured.

"Yes," Sendak said. "I remember." His voice sounded only mildly annoyed. Was Lance missing something? "I've been meaning to pay you back for that by the way," the commander continued. "Imagine my surprise when you escaped my ship with that filthy halfbreed and the Red Lion. Since we were at slipstream at the time, I believed you lost." He turned back to the prince with a proud grin. "But now I find you again. Not only that, I now have your Castle and all of the Lions of Voltron. Congratulations, your highness. You've made me and Emperor Zarkon most pleased."

Lance sneered. "Yeah. Too bad I had to do all the work for you to get that praise," he said.

He immediately flinched in preparation for the inevitable strike. But it never came. Instead of fury, Sendak merely smiled.

"I see what you're doing, little prince," the Galra commander said. "Had we still been on my ship, you would have paid for that comment with your tongue. However," he said, turning back to the control panel before him, "seeing as I'm in a good mood right now and I currently have possession of _your_ ship, I'll spare you that consequence. For now."

"We're ready to initiate the launch sequence, commander."

Lance bit back to pain and sat up so he could see the other speaker. It was unsurprisingly another Galra; the very same Galra who'd held Lance still when Sendak interrogated him.

"Well done, Haxus," Sendak said. "You may begin."

Launch? Lance stiffened, working his wrists against the unforgiving bonds that held them. If the Castle made it off the planet's surface, then there would be almost nothing to stop Sendak from bringing Voltron to the Galra Empire. The rebellion would be over before it even had a chance to begin. Not to mention the fact Lance was in no hurry to be in the same room with the traitor again so soon.

Quiznack. Why did he have to get stuck like this? He hated feeling useless. He was the Sentinel, not some damsel in distress. But there was nothing he could do in his current state. All he could do was wait and pray the Galran crystal, pulsing a sickening purple in the floor of the crystal chamber underneath where the Balmera crystal should have been, wasn't strong enough to handle to power output needed for launch.

* * *

The rest of the trek was uneventful, until he reached what had to be the main engine room. He carefully turned himself around so he faced the slatted vent which looked out over the engine room. It was then that Pidge noticed a rather significant problem.

"Hey, Katie?"

 _"I'm here Pidge,"_ Allura replied. _"Are you at the engine room yet?"_

"Y-yeah. Um, I'm in the ceiling," Pidge said. "And it's a long way down."

It really was. The floor was practically nonexistent as far as Pidge was concerned. He knew it was there; it had to be. This was a castle after all. There had to be a bottom. But the light created by what was probably the primary turbine, although it didn't look like any turbine Pidge had ever seen before, hid the floor from view. Only a long, narrow catwalk connected the door in the wall far below with a control panel close to the turbine. The catwalk formed a ring around the space the turbine occupied to provide a view from all sides, probably in case something wasn't working correctly.

Well, if Pidge did this right, something certainly wouldn't be working right.

Allura sounded regretful _. "Yes, it is,"_ she said. _"I'm sorry, but I know you can do it."_

"That sounds suspiciously like you forgot the vents came out in the ceiling," Pidge said.

 _"I…may have,"_ Allura admitted hesitantly.

Pidge groaned. "Okay. I got this," he muttered to himself. "I can do this. Think, Pidge, think."

He scanned the expanse of the main engine room, trying to gauge the distance between the vent and the catwalk with the control panel. There weren't any loops or anything on the walls of the chamber to grab onto and climb up or down on. But maybe he wouldn't need them.

Rover, nudged the green paladin and beeped drawing Pidge's attention to it. The hoverbot flashed and turned so its camera eye faced the inactive bayard hooked on Pidge's belt. That was certainly an option.

"Think you can handle the weight?" he asked his robot friend.

Rover beeped what Pidge hoped was an affirmative.

"Alright, buddy," he said.

He unhooked his bayard and activated it. The green blade glowed bright green and buzzed with energy. Pidge shook it and was pleased to see the blade detach from the bayard handle and clunk to the floor of the vent tunnel. He tied the buzzing blade around Rover's small mechanical body.

"You sure about this?" Pidge asked his robot friend one more time. "It won't hurt you, will it?"

Rover made its body turn side to side in a facsimile of a negative head shake. Pidge snickered at the action. "Alright," he said. "As long as you're sure."

He worked the vent cover free and pulled it into the tunnel. He crawled forward so his knees balanced on the edge of the tunnel, inches from topping over into oblivion. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Let me know when you're ready," he said.

Rover beeped and flew out into the engine room until it hovered over the vast expanse. Its camera eye turned back to Pidge and flashed, indicating it was ready.

"Alright," Pidge said. "Here goes nothing."

He held onto his bayard with both hands, extremely glad he couldn't sweat through his gloves. Without waiting to actually think the whole thing through, Pidge allowed himself to fall forward. He may have shrieked a little before his voice caught at the same time his body stopped falling and started swinging. He laced his fingers together over the bayard's handle and hoped it could take the strain.

Rover beeped and began descending through the air with its friend.

"Woah," Pidge said, watching the hoverbot glide down to the catwalk in a smooth ride. "Rover, did I ever tell you how awesome you are?"

Rover beeped in a higher pitch than usual and Pidge laughed.

"Well you are," he said.

He stretched out his toes when he got close to the catwalk and breathed a sigh of relief when he touched the solid surface. Rover did a little wobbling jig in the air and Pidge smiled at it fondly.

"Come one, buddy," he said. "Let's go take care of this turbine thing."

Together, the duo made their way to the control panel.

"Okay," Pidge said into his communicator. "I'm at the control panel. What do I do?"

 _"How did… Nevermind,"_ Allura said quickly _. "There should be an access hatch in the column. Open it."_

Pidge crouched and pulled the metal covering off of the panel and stared at the inside of the control panel. "There're six different glowing tube thingies in here," Pidge said.

 _"Good. Find the main control center and enter this sequence,"_ Allura said. She took a deep breath, ready to spout out the sequence.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Pidge said. "How do I know what the main control center is? All the symbols are in Altean."

The light from the turbine suddenly got brighter. Pidge sat back and stared at the glowing orb of energy in awe as it began to expand almost to the edges of the catwalk platform surround it.

"I think it's activating," Pidge said.

 _"You have to hurry,"_ Allura said urgently.

"I don't know Altean," Pidge shouted in mild panic. "I only understand you guys at all because of those translator chip thingies you gave us."

Pidge tuned out the princess's voice when he noticed Rover fly down to the hatch and turn to face him beeping and flashing. The green bayard blade was still active and buzzing where it was tied to Rover's body.

"Worth a try," he said.

 _"Pidge,"_ Allura said _. "Pidge, wait. What are you doing? Pidge-"_

"Katie?" Pidge called when the connection suddenly cut off. "Katie? Katie!"

The energy from the primary turbine glowing thing must be interfering with the signal. Pidge grit his teeth. After a second, he grabbed Rover so he could use his bayard blade.

"Whatever," he muttered, and slashed all of the tubes with the buzzing blade.

There was a brilliant burst of light that knocked Pidge off his feet, sending him sliding back across the catwalk platform. He pushed himself up and stared at the turbine. The light faded and the turbine shrank back to a much smaller size. Hopefully that was a good thing. He didn't want to stick around to find out.

"Let's get out of here," he said to Rover.

The hoverbot beeped and waited for Pidge to grip his bayard handle before flying back up over the expanse to the air vent.

* * *

The Castle shuddered and the control panel Haxus stood at suddenly sparked, forcing the Galra to retreat. "The main engine just shorted out," Haxus exclaimed.

"What?" Sendak demanded. "Show me."

A video feed of the main engine room appeared on the view screen. A red squared flashed over something in the upper left hand corner. Sendak enlarged the image and Lance's eyes widened. That green armor belonged to Pidge. Pidge could fly without the jet pack built into his suit? Wait. Did Pidge even know about the jet pack?

"It appears we have a saboteur," Sendak said. "Find him and kill him," he commanded his second in command.

"Vrepit sa, sir," Haxus said, saluting Sendak before racing out the door.

Lance grinned. "So," he said, "I do all the work, you get the Castle and me, but you can't hold onto it. Why the emperor tolerates you is beyond me."

Sendak growled. "You would be wise to keep that mouth shut, little prince," he warned.

"Why?" Lance asked, giving the Galra commander a daring grin. "Too close to the truth for comfort?"

Sendak clenched his fist angrily and raised his left arm to strike. Lance braced for impact. A tick before contact, Sendak stopped himself. Lance opened his eyes warily to see the Galra stand back and take a deep breath.

"Shrewd," Sendak said. "I'm impressed."

Lance glared Sendak. He flinched when Sendak extended his hand towards his face again, but his eyes widened when the Galra merely brushed a furred finger down his cheek. A sharp nail dug into the soft skin under his chin, lifting his face so he was forced to meet the Galra commander's biological and mechanical eyes.

"When I strike you, it will be on my terms," Sendak purred. "Not yours. Although I applaud your attempts to infuriate me, little prince; I'm afraid all it will do is worsen the end result when I finally do strike you." He grinned and pressed a finger against the scale at the corner of Lance's right eye eliciting a pained yelp. "The emperor may want you alive, but that a person can live just fine with one eye. I'm living proof of that."

Lance shuddered, fighting through the pain to glare hatefully at the Galra. He would not submit to the likes of him. He would not.


	26. PART 2 - 26: Liquefy Stone

**A/N:** And here's the second chapter, as promised. Two chapters in one day. Y'all're spoiled. XD I had fun writing this, especially the last bit. I dropped a pretty huge hint as to how Lance and Allura's siblings died.

If you want to see a tame version of what kind of deaths they experienced, watch _Hercule Poirot: Murder in Mesopotamia_ which can be found on Netflix or at this link: www. you tube (dot com, forward slash) watch?v =K56Wv _dBF1w (without spaces). The death occurs at 1:00:48-1:01:43 in the YouTube video. Side note, David Suchet is my one and only Poirot. **  
**

 **ALSO,** I have fanart now! Yay. Here's the link: triscribe. tumblr (dot com, forward slash) image / 151546412229

 **Chapter summary:** In which Sendak suspects 'Katie,' Hunk and Coran make contact, and Lance refuses to submit to the nightmarish reality. **  
**

* * *

 **26: Liquefy Stone  
**

Haxus returned not two tecks later breathing hard. "Commander Sendak," he called, running into the crystal chamber. "The paladin wasn't anywhere near the main engine room. I believe he may be traveling through the air vents."

Sendak released Lance's face and stood, narrowing his one golden eye at his second in command. "I see." He glanced at the few vents along the ceiling of the room suspiciously. "Check for any communications originating from within the Castle," he ordered. "It's unlikely the paladin knows the entire vent system by memory."

Lance snorted, earning him a glare. "What?" the prince taunted. "I sneezed."

Sendak bared his teeth. Restraining himself was becoming a battle of self-control he did not wish to devote his valuable mental control towards. Not with a saboteur aboard. Haxus ignored the Altean's display in favor of obeying his commander's order. He approached the control panel he'd vacated tecks ago and began a search of any communication signals by hand.

"Sir," Haxus exclaimed. "I found one." A few quick keystrokes and a female voice Lance knew intimately well rang over the room's speakers.

 _"There's not much time before they get the ship up and running again,"_ the woman said. _"I need you to shut off the particle barrier so we can get inside."_

 _"On it,"_ a younger voice Lance knew belonged to Pidge. _"What do I do Katie?"_

Katie?

 _"The particle barrier generator is beneath the main hull,"_ 'Katie' explained urgently.

"She's telling the intruder how to dismantle our defenses," Haxus growled angrily.

"Yes," Sendak said, studying the Altean prince's face closely. He'd noticed the distinct pallor that had stolen the life from the Altean's complexion when the woman began speaking. "But she's also giving us the exact location of our spy," he said.

Lance looked up at Sendak and met his glare with one of his own. The Galra snorted. The edge from the Altean's glare was nowhere near as sharp as it had been. Most interesting.

"Sentries," he ordered the robot foot soldiers standing by the crystal chamber's entrance. "Find the particle barrier generator and kill the paladin when he shows himself."

As the robots left in a synchronized march, Sendak continued. "In the meantime, Haxus," he said, "repair the engine. The emperor is expecting us to bring him Voltron and the little prince. It would be rude of us to make him wait."

"Vrepit sa, sir," Haxus said, and began typing away, making repairs as quickly as he could from up here.

"I take it this 'Katie' is someone you hold dear," Sendak said, taking note of the way the prince flinched. He smiled. "I promise to extend the best of Galran hospitality to her when we find her."

The Altean glared. "I'll kill you before you get the chance," he growled.

Sendak laughed. "Well, well," he said. "It has a bite, after all. Too bad it can't sink its fangs in. For that, I promise to dispatch her myself, in front of you of course. Wouldn't want to deprive you of a farewell, now would we?"

Lance felt his heart sink in his chest, wriggling his wrist against the restraints. The movements sent pangs of stinging pain up his spine, but it was tolerable. If he could get out of here and protect Allura, he would. It was his duty. But more importantly, she was his sister. He had to protect her. He couldn't stand the thought of watching her suffer the safe horrific fate of their siblings.

He'd die first.

* * *

 _"Unidentified vessel. Identify yourself and declare your destination and purpose here."_

"Well," Coran said, shrugging. "I guess it was too much to hope our arrival would be completely missed."

He descended the pod through the Balmera's atmosphere a little quicker.

 _"Unidentified craft. Respond now or be shot down."_

"Um, Coran, maybe we should answer them," Hunk said. "You know, so we don't die."

Coran sighed and opened a channel. "Um, hello. No offense meant," he began, ignoring the way the yellow paladin covered his face with his hand. "We don't intend to land. Just passing through."

 _"Unidentified craft. Land now and prepare to be boarded."_

"Whoops," Coran chirped, his humor unsullied by the Galra's intimidation. "Whelp, it was worth a try."

"Coran," Hunk said. "Please don't."

"Hold on."

The Altean pulled back on the controls, pulling the pod up short just as an enormous Galra vessel materialized through the clouds directly above them. Coran pressed two buttons and tipped the nose of the pod down before adding power. The pod blasted into a wobbly, inelegant loop that spit it out facing the way they'd come. Hunk clung to the armrests of his chair and prayed he wouldn't cover the pod's interior with vomit as Coran sped across the Balmera's surface towards a huge, cavernous pit.

"The poor creature," Coran mourned. "The Galra have turned it into a mining colony. There's not a crystal in sight. For such a gentle creature like a Balmera to meet such a cruel fate…" He shook his head, oblivious to his companion's discomfort. "This is truly unforgivable."

Hunk was mildly confused by the way the Altean referred to the Balmera. "You're talking about it like it's alive," he said, swallowing a burp. "I thought the Balmera was a planet."

"Oh no, not at all," Coran said, tipping the pod's nose down into the nearest mining pit to avoid the Galra vessel currently chasing them and gaining on them. "The Balmera are living creatures. They're petrified but alive. They naturally produce the crystals we use to power our technology. The process of harvesting a crystal is a delicate thing. The Balmera willingly gives us one of its crystals and, in exchange, we give them some of our life force to heal the wound left behind."

He sighed dreamily as he dove the craft, all while Hunk screamed in terror next to him. "Ah yes," he reminisced. "I remember when my grandfather came here to harvest crystals to build the Castle of Lions. I came with him a few times when he harvested some of the smaller crystals. It was an experience to remember."

Hunk kept screaming and they kept going down. "Huh, strange," Coran said thoughtfully. "I wonder why we haven't seen the bottom yet."

"You wonder?!" Hunk cried. "You mean you didn't know how deep this thing was before you dropped us down here? What is _wrong_ with you?"

"What?" Coran said, turning to the yellow paladin with an expression of honest confusion. "You didn't want us to be captured now, did you?"

"Well no, but-"

"Then this was the best thing to do," Coran said, waving his hands.

"Don't let go of the controls!"

"Besides," Coran continued seriously, "this sight breaks my heart. This is just beyond cruel. The Galra should pay dearly for what they've done to this magnificent creature."

"Just land this thing and I'll throw up all over them if we find them," Hunk said, looking very green.

"Oh, you would do that?" Coran cried excitedly. "That would be a sight to see. You _must_ do that."

Hunk could only flash the advisor an 'OK' sign with his hand and focus on controlling his breathing. Eventually, the Altean pulled the pod up and landed it gently on the ground. When Coran raised the particle shield acting as the cockpit roof, Hunk immediately unbuckled himself and threw himself to the Balmera's solid surface.

"Ground," he cheered. "Solid ground. Bless you." He sniffed tearfully. "I love you."

"Your human habits are very confusing," Coran said, stepping out of the pod next to Hunk. He tilted his head and watched as the yellow paladin literally kissed the ground. "Very confusing indeed."

Footsteps echoed through one of the earthen tunnels near where the Altean and paladin had landed. Hunk tensed and sat up, drawing his bayard and activating it. "Don't come any closer," Hunk called to whoever or whatever approached them. "I have a giant gun and I'm not sure how to use it."

"That's…not very encouraging," Coran said, eyeing the yellow paladin in disappointment.

Glowing yellow eyes appeared in the darkness and Hunk tightened his grip on his bayard, but didn't fire right away. He was glad he'd waited. The people who emerged from the darkness were not what he was expecting.

"Hey," Hunk said, lowering his weapon, "you're not Galra."

"Nor are you," the being on the left said in a distinctly female voice.

The being on the right looked up when a whirring sound wafted down the cavern they stood in. Hunk followed the being's gaze and saw a Galra-made ship descending towards them, sending beams of red light in a circular pattern.

"A patrol!" the being declared. "Shay, we must take leave of these creatures now."

"No!" Hunk cried. "Wait. Don't leave us here."

"Yes," Coran said. "If the Galra find us they're torture us."

"Or kill us," Hunk added.

"Or keep us as pets to play with how they please," Coran sad, wriggling his finger in a creepy fashion. Hunk stared at the Altean in horror.

"They'd _do that?"_ he gasped.

"Not our problem, Hairy Lip," the male creature said.

"Wait," the female, Shay, said. "All these years only Galra have ever been seen here. I cannot turn my back on the skylings."

The male grimaced, eventually caving under the female's pleading gaze. "Vex," he muttered in annoyance. "Grab a side," he ordered the others.

Hunk hesitated until he realized the creatures were literally going to pick up and carry the pod into one of the side tunnels. He immediately, deactivated his bayard and helped the creatures lift the pod. When Coran added his surprising strength to the mix, they were able to move the pod into a tunnel and around a corner so it was hidden from the patrol's view.

"Thanks for that," the yellow paladin said gratefully. "I'm Hunk and this is Coran."

"I am Shay," the female said. "This one," she said, gesturing to the male next to her, "is my brother Rax. How did you fall to us?"

"We're actually looking for something," Hunk said. "You guys might be the help we need."

"We're looking for a battleship class crystal," Coran said.

Shay straightened, her yellow eyes growing wide. Her brother, however, narrowed his eyes in distaste. "Of course you are," he growled. "You come to take as they all do. To take and give nothing back."

"Actually," Coran said, "if we can get the crystal back to our friends, we plan to return and offer the energy exchange required."

"Your words are nothing," Rax said, turning on his heel and leaving. "We will not help you."

Shay watched her brother leave, glancing back at Hunk and Coran with worry. "Come with me," she said eventually. "The elder shall decide your fate. If your words be as true as you say, then I pray favor shall befall you and this one."

Hunk smiled. "Thanks," he said. "I mean it."

* * *

"Why do you seek the crystals of the Balmera?" the wizened elder Shay introduced them to asked.

Coran opened his mouth to reply, but Hunk answered faster. "My friend needs help," he said. "He was wounded defending his sister from an explosion the Galra set. If he doesn't get the medical attention he needs, then… Actually," Hunk said, bowing his head, "I'm not sure what'll happen if he doesn't get into one of the healing pods. He could be fine and I'm just worrying, or he could die."

"The young man in question is the prince," Coran said, picking up where the yellow paladin left off. "He is, in every way that matters, my nephew. Please, he and his sister are the last of their family line. If they die, then there will be no one left."

"Not to mention, we'd be down a paladin," Hunk mumbled. "I left him behind once and he got captured. I can't let that happen again. Please," he pleaded, "help me."

The elder gazed at him over the fire. When she looked away, Hunk felt as if her decision had been made but he didn't say anything. Instead, he waited for her to speak.

"You say you will complete the energy exchange just as those of old did to heal the Balmera of her wounds," the elder said. It hadn't been a question and Hunk didn't move to answer, neither did Coran. "None have completed such an exchange for years long passed."

"No," a larger being Hunk had begun referring to as Balmerans in his mind said gravely. "They have not. We feel the Balmera's pain, but we labor on as we must. At least we have family." He gazed at the Balmerans sitting around the fire with the elder with the fondness of a parent.

Hunk's heart ached as he thought of his own parents. Did they know what happened to him? Did the Garrison report him dead just like they'd done with Shiro and the rest of the Kerberos mission? Would he ever get to see his family again? Would he ever get to leave a ho'okupu for Pele with his family again?

"I understand," Hunk said slowly, bowing his head. "I do. I haven't seen my family in a long time. Now I probably won't see them for even longer. But," he raised his head and gazed directly at the elder, "if I go to them now, then the Galra will probably take over my home planet and everything I know and love will be destroyed. So I'll do what I have to to protect them."

The elder held Hunk's gaze unblinkingly. Her yellow eyes were ageless and bright, a stark contrast to her aged body. Hunk knew to respect those who had seen and heard more than he had.

"The Galra have not set foot upon your home?" the elder asked in surprise.

Hunk nodded. "Not yet," he said. "But if we don't fight them they will. It's only a matter of time."

"Fight?" Shay gasped, pressing a hand over her flat chest. She dropped her gaze and placed her other hand on the ground. The area around her hand began to glow and a sound Hunk knew was the Balmera's moaning voice filled his ears. "We cannot fight," Shay said.

"You don't have to," Hunk said gently. "I think you should, but it's not my choice. I think every race in the universe deserves to be free. If they won't or can't fight for that, then I'll do it for them."

"You speak as one who has lived more periods than you appear to have lived," the elder said astutely.

Hunk shrugged self-consciously. "I don't know about that," he said awkwardly, running a hand through his black hair. "My country values freedom. It's something we often take for granted. My family trained me not to think that way."

"Your family is wise," the Balmera father said, offering Hunk a smile.

The yellow paladin returned the smile. "Yeah," he said sadly. "Yeah they are. I can't be with them right now, but I can think about them and fight for them."

"Um," Shay said softly. "What is 'free'?"

Hunk blinked in surprise and stared at Shay in shock. "You… You don't know what freedom is?" Shay shook her head and Hunk something ache in his chest. "Then I'll fight to make sure you experience it one day," he swore.

He missed how the elder looked at him, but Coran didn't.

* * *

"Move your smegs," Sendak shouted at the sentries on the view screen. "How can you be outwitted and outmaneuvered by one paladin?"

Lance grinned. "Because a robot's no match for a brain," he said. "Or half a robot in your case."

Sendak snarled at the prince. The despicable Altean had the audacity to smirk at him and it infuriated the Galra. It took too much concentration to keep his temper in check.

"Haxus," he said, keeping his glare on the prisoner as he spoke, "when will you be finished with the repairs to the engine?"

"I've done all I can from here, sir," Haxus said, straightening his stance. "I need to make a few more adjustments from the engine room itself. Then we should be ready to launch on your command."

"Good," Sendak said. "See to it then. When you get there, call the bridge. That's where we'll be." He grinned. "I see no reason why we shouldn't observe our victory from the room with the best view."

The Altean glared at Sendak as Haxus left, but it was without bite. Sendak chuckled. Soon, he promised himself. The moment they made it into space, Sendak would begin exacting his well-deserved vengeance on the prince. He would make the rebellious Altean submit before turning him over to Zarkon. He doubted the emperor would mind if the prince's will was broken when he received him.

He grabbed the prince with his Druid-enhanced arm and yanked him to his feet. The Altean screamed as the metal irritated the wounds on his back and his arms wriggled in a useless attempt to free himself. It was but a tease compared to what Sendak would enjoy once they got off this retched planet.

"What's the matter?" he asked the struggling Altean. "No fangs to match your bark?"

The prince ignored him, but it didn't bother Sendak. "Perhaps your little friend would enjoy hearing your voice," he wondered, digging one of his metal fingers into the prince's back.

"Quiznack you," the prince snapped in a strained voice.

Sendak snarled and dropped the Altean back to the ground, watching as the prince staggered awkwardly on his feet.

"You have quite the bark for a pacifist berry-muncher," he commented. "According to the stories, your siblings didn't put up nearly as much of a fight as you." The prince bowed his head and slumped against the wall, gasping but otherwise silent. "It is unfortunate that I couldn't watch your species crumble into the ashes where you belong. I'm told it was quite the sight to behold."

The Altean lifted his head and glared at Sendak with a fury the Galra could actually admire. The commander laughed. "I like those eyes of yours," he said. "I wonder what they would look like under the effects of muriatic acid."

The color drained from the prince's face entirely.

"Did they scream as they died?" Sendak asked. The prince remained silent, his eyes wide and unseeing, breathing hard, lost in his own mind as the Galra commander closed in. "What a symphony. A pity I couldn't have been there to hear it." He drew a metal finger along the Altean's deathly pale face and leered at his prisoner. "It must haunt your dreams at night," he murmured just loud enough for the prince to hear. "Do you blame yourself for out-living them? For watching their eyes liquefy and their skin dissolve in front of you? Did you try to save them or did you flee from them, leaving them to their fates? How is it that you survived and they didn't? You who was born to die."

Sendak's smile grew as he watched the prince's form begin to shake. He brushed the tears spilling over the Altean's cheeks in a mockery of affection.

"I think you stayed," he said softly, watching the Altean's pupils shrink to mere pinpricks in a sea of dark blue. "I think you stayed to watch them die. Did you enjoy it? Were you relieved it was them and not you suffering, dying? Did you do the same to your sister when she died while in stasis? Did you stare at her dead body in those pods of yours? Was it withered beyond recognition or was it perfectly preserved from the moment of death? Is it still there? Did you keep it to remind you of the others you watched die? You're even sicker than I am," he chuckled in amusement.

Sendak had expected a response, but not the kind he received.

The prince's pupils grew, swallowing the irises an instant before the Altean slammed his forehead into Sendak's, bit a furred ear, and jammed his knee into Sendak's vulnerable crotch. Sendak roared in pained fury, reeling back from the unexpected assault.

"You filthy monstrosity," he thundered, slashing at the prince with his Druid-enhance arm in fury.

He was pleased to hear the gratifying sound of the Altean's shriek of surprise followed by a grunt of pain as the prince was thrown to the floor by the blow. Sendak stood, pulling his arm back to its usual length, the humming purple energy connecting it to his shoulder obeying his mental command. He stalked up to the Altean lying limp on the floor, twitching in pain.

The prince opened his eyes and met Sendak glare for glare. Despite himself, Sendak was pleased. The boy still had fight in him. That meant he would have more time to break him efficiently. He kicked the Altean over so he lay on his back, pinning his bound arms beneath him. It must be uncomfortable, especially considering his preexisting wounds. Pity.

Sendak reached down with his enhanced arm and made to grab the prisoner's body when he noticed something he'd missed before. The prince's clothes were torn by Sendak's enhanced claws leaving thin streaks of blood behind. The cuts weren't deep. They probably wouldn't even scar. However, they weren't what Sendak noticed.

The torn cloth had fallen away from the Altean's neck revealing a distinct bruise any Galra would recognize on sight. He traced his metal claw down the prince's neck and pressed against the bruise.

"So," he purred, watching the Altean's face once again drain of its color, "that's how you convinced the halfbreed to help you escape. You had him mate you." He dug his claw just deep enough to break the skin. "You knew exactly what you were doing, didn't you Altean," he said. "You knew he wouldn't be able to resist his mate. Did you leave him to die after you escaped?"

The prince said nothing.

"Disgusting," Sendak cursed. "Your promiscuous race was a blot on the universe. I bet you don't even know the meaning of loyalty."

The Altean remained silent.

Sendak huffed and clamped his metal hand around the prince's body, hauling him up. "You disgust me," he said. "But the emperor wants you alive so I shall deliver you to him alive. But if you think you'll be in one piece when you finally leave my care, you're gravely mistaken."

Silence answered him, but Sendak didn't care. He carried the Altean to the bridge. He had more important things to deal with than a member of an extinct race who should've stayed dead.


	27. PART 2 - 27: Magma Beneath the Surface

**A/N:** ^_^ ~~~ **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Hunk dreams of freedom and goddesses, Pidge play hide-and-seek with Galra sentries, Allura discovers she has a few secret weapons, and Sendak offers some encouragement. **  
**

* * *

 **27: Magma Beneath the Surface  
**

Hunk stood by their pod and waited anxiously for the elder's answer while Coran clattered about inside doing who knows what. It had been a nerve-wracking few minutes and Hunk couldn't help but worry about Lance and the others. They were out of range of their communicators. He knew; he'd tried to contact the Castle as soon as he dared. All he could do now was stand and wait.

He looked up when footsteps approached but was somewhat disappointed to see Shay and not the elder. Still, he offered her a friendly smile. "Hey," he said. "What're you up to?"

She looked at Hunk oddly. "I am not up on anything," she said.

Hunk blinked then laughed. "No, no, it's just a phrase," he said, waving away her confusion. "Don't worry about it. What do you need?"

"Nothing," she said, coming up to him softly. "The elder has yet to make her decision regarding these ones. I am sorry."

Hunk's smile softened. "Hey, it'll be okay," he said. "It's not your fault. I get it. It's a serious thing." He looked down at the ground, thinking of his friends, his family, and the disheartening sounds of the Balmera's moaning. "I'm sorry we're causing so much trouble for you."

"Do not be," Shay said. She brushed her toes through the dirt nervously before speaking again. "Tell me of the sky. What is it like?"

"The sky?" Hunk asked, looking up at the Balmeran's glowing yellow eyes. "Haven't you seen it before?"

Shay looked away. "No," she admitted. "But sometimes at night, I sneak up the tunnels as high as I dare and imagine what it is like." She hopped up onto the pod, using her tail for balance as she went before perching on the roof and gazing out to the main mining hole beyond the tunnel. "Tell me?" she asked again.

Hunk smiled and leaned back against the cool metal, crossing his arms behind him and resting his head on them. "I don't know much about this place," he said, "but where I'm from, the sky is this bright, vibrant blue. It's hot and humid and breezy. The clouds are white except for when there's a storm or something. Then they're gray, some darker than others." He sighed.

"The beaches are hot and sandy and the water's freezing and perfect for surfing," he said. "There're volcanoes there too. This one near my home is called Kilauea. It's where Tutu Pele lives."

"Tutu Pele?" Shay asked, tilting her head down to the yellow paladin's curiously.

"Yeah," Hunk said. He noticed Shay's look and blushed, looking away. "I know it may seem a bit childish to some people, but I do believe in her," he said softly. "I'm a scientist so I understand what makes a volcano works, what goes on inside it and all that. But I just…" He shrugged. "I can't let go of this nagging feeling that she's there watching over me and my family. That's enough to make me believe." He smiled. "She's not the most gentle of goddesses and she's got quite a temper, but she protects my family and that's all I care about."

"This Tutu Pele," Shay asked, pronouncing the goddess's oddly to Hunk's amusement, "she has a temper?"

"Oh yeah," Hunk said, laughing. "She throws temper tantrums sometimes which result in eruptions from Kilauea. These eruptions can be destructive, but they're not always bad." He lifted his head back up to Shay and smiled. "My family and I used to leave offerings for her to keep her temper under control. It didn't always work, but it meant something to me."

Shay smiled and looked back at the tunnel's entrance the tantalizing light shining through it faintly from far above. "I do not know what 'Tutu Pele' is," she said slowly, "or 'volcano' or 'beach' or…" She ran a thick finger over the pod's metal surface. "I do not know most of what you speak of," she admitted. "But I hope to see them one day."

"You will," Hunk said. "One day, after this war is over and you're free, I'll come back here and take you to Earth and show you Kilauea and the beach and maybe I'll teach you how to surf."

"I would like that," Shay said with a smile. "This 'free' you speak of so fondly, what is it?"

Hunk turned around so he faced Shay and really looked at her. "You really don't know?" he asked softly. The Balmeran shook her head and Hunk sighed. "Free means you can do what you want, go where you want, be what you want, and live your life without the Galra Empire controlling everything like slave drivers."

Shay's eyes grew wide with wonder. "But this makes no sense," she said. "Zarkon controls everything."

"He doesn't control my world, remember," Hunk said, smiling broadly.

"N-no," Shay said in dawning realization. "He does not."

"See, I'm part of this group that's fighting against Zarkon," Hunk said excitedly. "We're all from different places, and times," he added wryly, "and we all have different cultures and languages and everything. But we work together to free this universe of Zarkon with this super-not-so-secret weapon called Voltron."

"Voltron?" Shay said, eyeing Hunk doubtfully. "That is an Altean tale."

Hunk snorted. "Well yeah," he said. "The Alteans built the thing, so I'm not surprised it's an Altean tale."

Shay smiled at Hunk in what the yellow paladin suspected was sympathy. "Oh child," she said. "Swept up in dreams. An Altean tale is an Altean tale. It is nothing but a dream."

"Um, I'm not sure if I know what you mean," Hunk said. "Altean Tale. What, does that mean 'fairy tale' or something?"

"Fairy?" Shay parroted the unfamiliar word in confusion.

Hunk shook his head. "Nevermind. Look, it's real. Voltron's real. The Alteans built Voltron and some of them are still alive now. We're working with them to fight Zarkon. Coran's actually an Altean and so are the prince and princess."

"The prince… You mean the friend you wish to save?"

"Yeah," Hunk said seriously. "Him. He and his sister and Coran are probably the last of their race. But the prince and I are both paladins of Voltron and Voltron is going to defeat Zarkon."

"Be silent, Big One," Rax shouted, stepping out from the shadows. "Your shadow shows are nothing but empty Altean Tales. Stop filling this one's head with your dreams. The cavern is our home. This will never change. Shay, come."

Shay's shoulders drooped and Hunk felt his heart ache as he watched her follow her brother. He swore then and there that he would do his best to make sure Shay and her family experienced freedom. He would. No one deserved to live like this. It was unforgivable.

* * *

 _"Pidge!"_ Allura cried.

Pidge ignored the princess's calls, more interested in dodging the sentry's attacks than anything else. This was the third time he'd been cornered and attacked. The Galra must have hacked into the communications. He cursed. He knew this would happen. It was only a matter of time, really. Time he'd run out of.

"Can't talk now," he said. "Getting shot at."

He parried another blast of purple energy from a sentry's gun and ducked another. Rover beeped and knocked into him from the left, throwing him to the floor of the catwalk seconds before another purple blast streaked through the air he'd just occupied. Pidge gripped his bayard and scanned the particle barrier generator room for a way out. A Galra drone stood in the doorway on either side of the catwalk, blocking both of his exits. There was one more exit, through the vent. There was just one catch.

The vent was about two stories above his head in the wall.

There were no stairs or ladders or anything Pidge could use to aid him. He just had himself, his armor, his bayard, and Rover. Granted, Rover was proving to be the best companion right now. Pidge looked up and yanked Rover down with him, protecting it from enemy fire. A third Galra sentry was approaching Pidge's position, now that he had no apparent place to run.

Pidge glanced at the control panel for the generator in frustration. It was just out of his reach. It was maddening. He couldn't get close enough to deactivate the generator, even from a distance. There simply was no cover to hide behind. He couldn't attack, defend, and deactivate the generator all at the same time. He'd be dead.

He had no choice. He had to get to the air vent.

"Rover," Pidge said, nodding to the vent opening, "get to the vent. I'll be right behind you."

Rover flashed and flew up to the vent, hovering by the entrance waiting for Pidge to join it before entering. It was a stroke of luck that there was no covering for this vent that Pidge would have to pull off. Instead, the green paladin swung his bayard so the buzzing blaze detached and flew through the air, wedging itself in the wall by the vent. He ran to the catwalk railing, climbed up, and jumped willing his bayard to reel the glowing cord connecting the blade with the handle Pidge to haul haul him up to the vent.

It worked. Pidge felt himself rise through the air, bracing his feet on the metal walls. The moment he reached the vent, he yanked his blade free and crawled inside, Rover following close behind him. Sparks flew from the places the Galra energy blasts struck, leaving dark scorch marks behind. Pidge scrambled down the vent tunnel to the nearest junction and crawled up then turned right at the next junction and waited.

There was just silence and the sound of his breathing. The sentries hadn't followed him into the vents this time. That was his second attempt to get to the generator. The first time he hadn't made it near the control panel before taking fire. The sentries had all come from the same direction, so that made defending a bit easier. But three against one isn't exactly fair odds. It was like fighting against three gladiators in the training arena at once. Shiro could manage it but Pidge couldn't.

He'd escaped into the nearest vent tunnel in the hallway. Unfortunately, two sentries followed him. He'd dispatched the first easily, knocking down one of the downward vents in a free fall that resulted in a satisfying explosion. The second sentry had given chase with surprising intelligence for a robot. It had taken Pidge and Rover a good while to reduce that particular sentry to sparking, twitching trash.

Then he'd been hopelessly lost in the vents and he'd needed Allura's calm reassurance and guidance to get back to the generator room. He'd waited an hour, hoping the sentries would have moved on or at least relaxed their guard a bit before making his second attempt. No luck. The sentries had waited until Pidge was completely on the catwalk with no cover before firing.

"Sorry, Katie," he said into his communicator. "I can't get to the generator. It's too well guarded."

 _"It's okay,"_ Allura said. She sounded disappointed, but understanding.

 _"Don't worry about it,"_ Shiro said. _"_ _You did what you could. We need you alive first and foremost."_

Pidge slumped back against the tunnel wall in defeat. "Yeah," he grumbled. Rover beeped and settled on Pidge's knees, staring at him. "Rover had a few close calls," he said. "But we're both fine otherwise." He shook his head and sighed. "Sorry."

With his head resting against the vent tunnel, he could feel the vibrations and sounds of the Castle better than in the hallways. He could see why the Alteans used to crawl around in here. It was basically the ultimate tunnel maze, when he wasn't being shot at that is. Lance and Allura could run around in here avoiding their duties and babysitters, pulling pranks, and generally causing mayhem all day and all night without getting caught.

It was also a great place to just sit and think. If they got out of this, then Pidge would probably start using the vents as his quiet time place. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back.

 _"Don't be,"_ Allura said gently. _"It's not your fault. You're trying. That's all that matters. I'm just sorry you got caught up in this."_

Air ruffled Pidge hair, like the friendly gesture Matt used to do. It was comforting and reminded Pidge of home. The breezes that blew through the big city, twirling leaves and dirt into the corners of buildings. The rumble of traffic, voices, music, and the air itself. The city pulsed with life all day and all night. Well, most of the night. It wasn't the City That Never Sleeps, but it was the Big Peach and it was everything Pidge lived for.

Wait. That breeze was real. So was the rumble and the pulsing. They weren't in Pidge's memory, they were in the here and now. The Castle's power output was increasing again. But that meant…

 _Shit!_

Pidge lifted his arm and activated the digital display on his left arm plate. A holographic image projected above his forearm, showing the vent tunnel system as far as he knew. He'd taken the opportunity to map out the tunnel as he went just in case he needed it.

"A- Katie," he said urgently, staring at his holographic map. "Is anything happening out there?"

 _"No, why?"_ the princess answered. _"Wait. No! The Castle's engines. They're regaining their power."_

 _"What?"_ Keith cried.

"That's what I thought," Pidge muttered. "I think our borrowed time is up."

 _"Don't worry about that right now,"_ Shiro said. _"Can you get back to the engine room?"_

"Yeah," Pidge said, after studying the vent map. "Two lefts, a right, down three, and left three."

 _"What does that mean?"_ Keith asked. His voice still sounded strained, but he hadn't had another freak out for a couple hours or so. Pidge was hoping that meant Lance was okay. Couldn't worry about that right now.

"Nothing," the green paladin said. "I'm heading back down to the engine room. I'll call you when I can."

* * *

"Understood," Allura said. "Stay safe."

 _"I'll try."_

Then the comms went silent. Allura bit her lip worriedly and looked at the purple particle barrier a span or two from where she sat on the ledge under the bridge. She'd lost track of how long she had been hiding here with Shiro and Keith, but she figured it was close to several tocks. They'd taken turns keeping watch so the others could relieve themselves, but she could feel her stomach grumble from hunger and her throat felt dry.

Also, the sun had risen on Arus. It was day now which meant they wouldn't have the cover of night to protect them from the Castle's visual scanners. They were running out of time and they all knew it.

Keith had curled up on the ledge opposite Allura and glared at the dark purple barrier that extended down from the bridge to the ground far below preventing him from reaching his mate. He had an outburst a while ago during the predawn tocks and it had taken both Shiro and Allura to keep him from climbing over the bridge's side and throwing himself against the barrier. Something must have happened to Lance,;but whatever it was, it hadn't killed him. That was a blessing at least.

If… _When_ they got through this, Allura would be more lax with Keith and Lance in the future. She'd still have her mice keep an eye on them, but she wouldn't deliberately keep them apart anymore. Her mice.

"Quiznack," she gasped.

"Princess?"

Allura held up a finger over Shiro's lips and squeezed her eyes shut. "Don't talk," she said. "Give me a teck. I'm going to try something."

Shiro obediently fell silent, but Allura could feel his eyes on her. It was distracting. She deliberately took a deep breath through her nose and released it through her mouth, counting to ten and focused her mind on her mice.

 _:Friends,:_ she called as clearly as she could. _:I need your help. Can you hear me?:_

For several ticks, she received no response. Then something soft and fuzzy brushed her mind. She felt her lips twitch up in a smile.

 _:Friends,:_ she said, focusing on her words and emotions, doing her best to communicate them clearly. _:I need you to go to the particle barrier generator and deactivate it. Can you do that for me?:_

A whisper of fluff brushed her mind in a pattern she'd learned meant 'yes' and her smile grew. She pressed her consciousness towards her mice, following them as closely as he could. She could see through their eyes, hear through their ears. It would take a few tecks for them to get to the barrier generator. Hopefully, they wouldn't meet the same resistance as Pidge had because of their size. It would be even better off they went unnoticed entirely. She couldn't bear it if she lost one of them.

* * *

"Powering sub panels," Haxus said aloud, voicing his actions for his commander.

 _"Sub panel energy transducer is go,"_ Sendak said over the speakers.

Haxus ran a check on the connection and saw it was working as it should. "Aye sir," he said. "Opening a pathway to link with the bridge." He slid his fingers across the view screen pulling up another set of readouts. "Initializing main cluster reboot."

He waited until the indicators flashed in their ready position. "Initializing complete," he said. "I'm set for main engine power up."

 _"Understood,"_ his commander said. _"The bridge is go."_

"Powering up," Haxus said, activating the command.

Now he just had to wait and the main engine would be restored to full power. He watched the power indicators rise as the power increased and the turbine grew larger and brighter in front of him. He only noticed something wrong when, instead of settling at the usual safe limits of the system, the power bars continued to rise. He had two ticks to comprehend the situation before a red warning flash across the view screen.

"Sir," he said. "Something is wrong."

 _"What is it?"_

He never got a chance to answer. The main turbine began spooling up well beyond the safety limits, before bursting outward, expelling the extra built up energy into the surrounding area. Unfortunately, that meant the catwalk and everything on it received a significant electrical shock. The charge raged through Haxus' body ripping a pained scream from him as he fell to his knees, stunned.

When he sat up, there was someone else standing in front of him. They were short and wore green and white Altean armor. The Galran hoverbot Haxus fliated by the person's shoulder. It was the same hoverbot Haxus had used to create a clone program to carry the bomb into the Castle in the first place. He could barely believe his eyes. This person had rewritten a Galra hoverbot's program and been causing Haxus and his commander so much trouble?

"You're the one behind all of this?" he growled angrily. "A mere child?"

"I'm not a child," the short person said. "I'm a paladin of Voltron."

No wonder this 'paladin' had stayed hidden in the vents, Haxus thought in disgust. Had Haxus or Commander Sendak seen him, they would have known how pathetically weak their enemy truly was. Haxus laughed.

"Then tell me, _child,"_ he purred, "I am a soldier of the Galra Empire, second to Commander Sendak, and servant to Emperor Zarkon. I stop for nothing except triumph or death. How fast will your death be, I wonder?"

* * *

"Haxus," Sendak called. "Report in, Haxus. What was that just now?"

"He's probably sleeping on the job," an increasingly annoying voice said from behind Sendak. He refused to look at the Altean prisoner or acknowledge him in any way. "Your lovely voice just put him to sleep."

Sendak felt his ear twitch. He should have gagged the prince when he had the chance. Doing so now would admit the prisoner's words were getting to him. That would mean submitting which he would not do. Not to a pathetic brat like the Altean.

"Hm? Did I put you to sleep?" the prince's voice came again. "Aw, your compliments are making me blush. I don't know if I'll ever recover."

His ear twitched again. This boy… Did he ever shut up?

Haxus had still not responded. It could be nothing; but then again if the saboteur was involved, it could be something significant. The saboteur had shown himself to be efficient and, since he kept to the vents, there was no real way of getting rid of him without physically killing him. Be that as it may, if the saboteur was responsible for his second's lack of response, Sendak knew Haxus would deal with the problem quickly and efficiently. Haxus had never failed him before and wasn't likely to start now.

Then again, Sendak doubted a little encouragement would be amiss. Even the enemy needed some encouragement from time to time. He smiled and turned to the prince. "Indeed?" he said. "Forgive me, my mind was elsewhere."

The Altean prisoner sat on the floor propped up by central platform Sendak now occupied. He was close enough to keep an eye on but far enough away to not impede Sendak's movements. Although, looking at the boy now, he was impressed by the fact the Altean was still conscious let alone forming words in coherent sentences.

Since they arrived at the bridge, the prince had remaining mostly silent, probably drifting between consciousness. Now, however, his blue eyes were wide open and focused solely on the commander. Sendak took one step closer and was pleased to see the subtle twitch giving away the brat's desire to flee. Despite this, the prince mustered a shaky smile.

"Really?" he said. "It's rude to ignore your guests, you know."

"I suppose so," Sendak purred. "It would appear another guest has paid a visit to a mutual friend. Perhaps you would like to offer some encouragement to help spur our friend on."

"Encouragement?" the prince repeated. It was a testament to the boy's will that his voice stayed steady despite the growing fear manifesting in his deep blue eyes. "I don't know what you mean."

"No? Then let me show you."

Lance inched back. "I'd rather not."

"Oh, that wasn't a choice," the Galra commander said, placing his mechanical left arm on the boy's shoulder, halting the prisoner's movement. He placed the metal claw that served as his thumb directly on the Altean's right eye scale and smiled.

* * *

Outside, Keith screamed.


	28. PART 2 - 28: Wintry Silence

**A/N:** Not too big of a cliffhanger here. I decided to save that one for tomorrow's chapter. ^_^ Seeing as it's midnight now, I'm crashing and will edit this seriously tomorrow. Night~

 **Chapter summary:** In which Keith is on the verge of a breakdown, Allura hears something horrible, Hunk hears something incredible, and Sendak enjoys the silence. **  
**

* * *

 **28: Wintry Silence  
**

When he attacked, Pidge was ready. He dodged the first sweeping strike of the humming purple blade, then the second. The third required a roll to avoid but it gave him to opportunity to throw his bayard blade. Unfortunately for Pidge, the Galra soldier was faster.

The Galra dodged the green blade and tangled the glowing green cord that connected it to the paladin's bayard around his sword. Before Pidge could react, the Galra gripped the cord and swung with all his strength, tossing Pidge to the other side of the catwalk. Pidge landed hard, knocking the wind out of him, and slid across the metal. Thankfully, his back hit the control panel preventing him from sliding right off the catwalk into the primary turbine resulting in what Pidge knew would be a rather painful death.

Pidge grunted and pushed himself up to all fours just as laughter reached his ears. He turned his head and saw the Galra step on his bayard's green cord and allow the cord still coiled around the purple blade to slide off.

"Nowhere left to run," the Galra said. "Nowhere left to hide."

He lifted his blade and Pidge lifted his bayard handle, ready to block when-

 _"Indeed? Forgive me, my mind was elsewhere."_

What? Pidge blinked, startled by the unexpected voice.

"Commander?" the Galra said, pausing his attack.

 _"Really? It's rude to ignore your guests, you know."_

"Lance!" Pidge cried, sitting up in surprise.

The Galra hesitated, but so did Pidge. Neither of them wanted to make a move, too confused by the voices speaking over the Castle's speakers.

 _"I suppose so."_

That must be this Galra soldier's commander. But why was he talking to Lance? Or rather, why was Lance talking to him?

 _"It would appear another guest has paid a visit to a mutual friend,"_ the Galra continued. _"Perhaps you would like to offer some encouragement to help spur our friend on."_

"No. Lance!" Pidge cried, sitting up straight. "Don't do it. Whatever he wants you to do, don't do it. I'm fine. Do you hear me, you stupid alien? I'm fine."

 _"Encouragement?"_

Was it just Pidge's imagination running wild, or did the humor in Lance's voice sound a bit forced?

 _"I don't know what you mean."_

There. Pidge was certain he heard a waver in the prince's voice.

 _"No? Then let me show you."_ The Galra's voice was deep and smooth. He sounded perfectly at ease with whatever was happening. What _was_ happening?

 _"I'd rather not."_

The prince's voice was definitely wavering now. Whatever was happening, he wasn't liking it. Pidge didn't either.

"What's going on?" Pidge demanded the Galra in front of him. "What's happening to Lance? Tell me!"

The Galra soldier merely smiled.

 _"Oh, that wasn't a choice."_

The scream that followed sounded anything but human. Pidge wouldn't forget it for as long as he lived.

* * *

When Keith screamed, it broke Allura's concentration snapping her back to her own body with such force she wobbled on the ledge beneath the bridge. When she recognized the sound for what it was, her heart dropped. Something was happening to Lance and whatever it was, it was powerful enough to affect Keith through their link.

Shiro attempted to jump across the expanse separating him and Allura from Keith, but the distraught red paladin jumped. Allura saw him jump, but she didn't scream right away. Her horrified gaze followed the red paladin down through the air below then sideway accompanied by a blast of light and hot air.

"Keith!" Shiro shouted, dropping to his hands and knees by the edge, staring at the ground far below.

Keith must have used his jet pack. The paladin's jet packs were designed for space but could be used in an atmosphere. They simply lacked the precision needed for sharp turns and sudden, dramatic changes in speed. The provided enough force to stop a paladin's fall as Keith's had just done successfully, but they weren't designed to handle a paladin's full weight in the air for extended periods of time.

Allura could hear the sound of something striking the Galran particle barrier around the Castle and would wager Keith was trying to take the thing down by sheer force alone. It wouldn't work. The attacks from Keith's bayard sword were nothing to a fully powered particle barrier. It could take weeks for Keith's attacks to whittle the power down enough to make an impact.

"Shiro," she said, snatching the black paladin's attention. Shiro's brown eyes were wide and stunned but quickly focused on the princess. "Use your jet pack and take me up to the top of the bridge."

Shiro blinked in surprise. "Jet pack?" He reached behind him and felt his back for any sign of the device. "I have a jet pack?"

Allura nodded. "Yes. It's not optimized for non-space travel but it should well enough to get us up there. You can activate it by choosing that option on the readout on your left armpad."

Shiro stood and tapped his left arm, studying the holographic readout that appeared over his forearm. He couldn't read the Altean letters flashing across the screen, but he got the gist of what he was looking at from the pictures. He moved to select the one that resembled a jet pack when Allura stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Wha- Your highness?" Shiro cried, holding up his hands and leaning back in an attempt to put distance between himself and the princess currently clinging to him. "What are you doing?"

"My flight suit doesn't have a jet pack," she said calmly, ignoring her paladin's obvious discomfort. "You'll need to carry me up there."

"Carry…you?"

"We don't have time for this," she snapped, noticing the way Shiro's body stiffened. "Get us up there before Keith works himself to exhaustion."

"R-right. Sorry about this," he said, wrapping his arms around Allura's body, pulling her tightly to his own.

"Jump before you activate it," she said. "Otherwise, you'll shoot us both into the rock above us."

"Oh." She felt Shiro look down and take a deep breath. "Okay," he said. "You ready?"

She nodded.

"Alright. Hold on."

He waited for Allura to acknowledge him with a nod before stepping out over the open air and allowing himself to fall. The princess instinctively tightened her grip on Shiro's body and tried not to squeeze her eyes shut as they fell. She couldn't see him tap the jet pack choice from the holographic readout, but she heard the tell-tale beep and felt both of their bodies jerk abruptly when the jet pack came online.

It had enough energy to slow their descent and after a couple false starts, Shiro figured out leaning guided the device. He leaned to the left and Allura felt the jet pack push them to the left and up over the bridge's side. She turned her head to face the Castle as they slowly came back down to land on the stone surface of the bridge. Keith stood in front of the particle barrier with his bayard sword drawn and clasped in both hands. He leapt at the barrier, slashing it with all his might, screaming Lance's name as he did so. It was painful to watch.

When she was close enough to the bridge's surface the land safely, she let go of Shiro's neck and dropped the final few spans. She landed in a crouch, absorbing the shock as best she could, and ran to the red paladin's side.

"Keith," she shouted. "Keith stop. Stop!"

She grabbed the halfbreed's left arm and leaned forward, putting her weight onto the paladin's arm effectively preventing him from lifting his bayard with that hand. Keith tried to shake her off, but she dug her right elbow into his chest and held fast.

"This is pointless, Keith," she said. "You won't get the barrier to lower like this."

"Shut up," Keith cried furiously. "Shut up shut up shut _up!"_

He let go of his sword with his left hand and tried to shake the princess off of him. He adjusted his grip on his bayard sword using his right hand and continued his useless assault on the maddening purple barrier.

"Keith!" Shiro shouted, wrapping his arms around the red paladin's body. He couldn't get Keith's right arm, but he managed to get the left arm, squeezing it to Keith's body. "Keith, I know you're upset but you have to stop. You'll just hurt yourself."

"Keith listen to me," Allura said.

"Shut up," Keith cried, shaking his head and fighting Shiro's hold to continue slashing at the barrier. "Lance!"

Allura grit her teeth furiously. _"Enough!"_

Keith hesitated at her command and turned his frenzied gaze to hers, waiting for another command.

"I'm close to powering down the particle barrier," Allura said, startling both of her companions. "Give me a few more tecks and it should be down. Save your strength for the Galra behind this. You can actually do some damage to them. Don't tire yourself out before you get the chance to rip them to shreds."

Keith reluctantly lowered his blade obediently, but his body continued to shake with pent-up energy. He bowed his head but his ears remained erect and his breathing did not ease. Allura sympathized with his pain, but this was important. If Keith- If _any_ of them had any hope of getting through this and finding Lance alive, then they needed to all be at their best. Anything less and the princess suspected they wouldn't live to regret it.

She closed her eyes and focused all of her thoughts and energy on regaining her connection to her mice. It took a few ticks but soon Allura was looking up through the eyes of her mice. They were in a small vent tunnel that was much too small for Pidge to fit through. They could see one of the doorways to the generator room from their low vantage point. It was across the room on the other side of the catwalk which meant the other door was in the wall next to the small vent.

The beams of energy glowed purple, filling the generator room with its eerie, unwelcoming light. A strange sound filled her mice's ears but it was hard to make out clearly over the loud hum of the generator. The sentry who stood by the door nearest the small vent paid the mice no mind. If he saw them at all in the dim light or heard them over the noise, it most likely dismissed them as a threat. Good.

Allura encouraged the mice to run across the catwalk to the control panel, following their progress closely. They climbed up the panel's support column and peered over the side at the panel on top. The big green mouse bravely climbed over first and stared at the readouts on the screen.

Allura studied the readouts through her companion's eyes and nudged the green mouse towards a series of flashing symbols on the left. With her gentle encouragement, the mouse pressed its tiny paw on the symbols she indicated. A visualization of the Castle of Lions appeared on the panel's view screen showing the particle barrier power down. Her mice cheered and so did she until the now inoperative generator's hum faded and she could hear the other sound more clearly.

It was scream.

The sound threw her from her mice's minds. Her sight returned to her body and she realized she had fallen to her knees sometime during her stay in her mice's eyes. She suspected she knew exactly when her balance had given way.

"Princess," Shiro's voice called. "Princess, are you alright?"

Allura pressed her hand to her mouth as her sight blurred from tears. That scream… That sounded like…

"Lance," she breathed.

Movement caught her attention and she looked up in time to see the Galran particle barrier turn off. Keith wasted no time adjusting his sword in his right hand and running into the Castle at full speed. Allura bit back her pain and leapt up to follow her paladin with Shiro at her heels. The moment they entered the Castle proper, that sound filled her ears.

"What is that?" Shiro asked, stunned.

"Lance," Allura said, pushing herself to go faster. "It's Lance."

"My god."

Allura steeled herself, fully prepared to listen to her brother's screams the whole way to the bridge if she had to. For this reason and this reason only, she skidded to a stop when Lance suddenly fell silent.

* * *

Hunk could barely believe what he was hearing.

"These ones will take you as far as the crystal, but no further," the elder said from her place by the fire. "You claim you will perform the energy exchange when you return. Is this not so?"

Coran nodded. "You have my word," he swore, kneeling on one knee and touching his forehead, his mouth, and his heart with the fingers of his right hand.

The elder's eyes widened, the gold gleaming in the firelight. "Then consider this an act of trust," she said. "If you return and complete the exchange within a single turn as the ancient ones once did, then these ones," she gestured to the Balmerans around her, "shall offer you aid in your endeavors. However," she warned, "if you do not return within the time given to you by these ones, then you will not find us as allies."

"We understand and accept your most gracious offer, elder," Coran said, standing. "Lead the way."

"I will not be going and neither shall these ones," Rax said, standing from his place by the fire. He turned to the Balmeran elder and said angrily, "We have family. We are together now. The Galra would tear this family asunder if they learned we offered aid to these skylings. I will not be a part of such an act."

"I will," Shay said.

"Shay," Rax breathed in betrayal.

"I told you once, brother. I cannot turn my back on the skylings," she said, gazing at her brother sadly. "This one's words touched my heart," she said, gesturing to the yellow paladin. "I wish for all of Balmera to have this freedom this one speaks of and I believe these one's Voltron can make it so."

"Voltron?" the elder asked.

"An Altean tale and nothing more," Rax said. "Why must you allow these skylings to fill your ears with their shadow shows?"

"You speak of one Voltron," the elder said, interrupting the young Balmerans' burgeoning argument. "Where did you hear of such a name?"

"I'm a paladin of Voltron," Hunk said, finally finding the courage to speak up. "I pilot the Yellow Lion."

The elder's eyes stared unblinkingly at Hunk saying nothing. After a moment she turned her gaze to Coran and nodded. "I know what you are now skyling," she said gravely. "There are those who still remember your people."

Coran's shoulders slumped and his expression fell. "I see," he said.

"Your oath has more weight now," the elder said. "This one shall guide you," she gestured to Shay, "to the crystal. If you are who I believe you to be, then the crystal shall come free for you. This one shall take the crystal to your ship but then you shall be on your own. We cannot and will not protect you. Fulfilling your oath shall decide whether you deserve our aid."

Coran bowed, this time at the waist. "Let it be as you say," he intoned.

Hunk shook his head in disbelief and had to scurry to catch up with Shay and Coran. He followed them through the winding tunnels of the Balmera with no light save that from his paladin armor and, surprisingly, from Coran's clothes. Who knew.

"This is it," Shay said, stopping. She pointed to something that sparkled dimly in the corner of the cavern. "The crystal you seek is there. I must stay here as the elder wished." She turned her gaze to Hunk and smiled. "I pray your actions be as the elder believes."

"They will be," Hunk said returning Shay's smile. "I promise."

"Well," Coran said, cracking his knuckles, "let's do this."

He walked across the dark room to a huge crystal embedded in the Balmera's body with Hunk at his side. The yellow paladin studied the crystal closely. There was no way they could dig the thing out it was too deep in the ground. Not to mention the fact this thing probably weighed twice as much as Hunk did on a bad day.

"Halt."

Hunk spun around in time to see two Galra sentries race across the cavern towards him. He didn't think. He just drew his bayard, activated it, and fired. The sentries fell to the bright yellow energy blasts from his huge bayard gun easily.

"Okay," he said. "That's two down. Anymore to go?"

Shay didn't speak, but he wasn't exactly expecting her to. It wasn't her job to get involved. The last thing he wanted was for Shay to die before she could even get a taste of freedom. Hunk wouldn't fail her after giving her something to hope for.

"I think we're safe for the time being," Coran said, standing from where he'd hidden behind Hunk.

He turned to the crystal and placed his hands on its surface. He closed his eyes and relaxed his mind and body opening himself to the Balmera. The crystal began to glow from within casting turquoise light across Coran and Hunk's faces.

"Um, I don't mean to push, but can you speed things up a bit maybe?" Hunk asked, hefting his gun and keeping a lookout for any more Galra.

"This isn't something that can be rushed," Coran admonished. "If I tried wrenching the crystal free, I'd be no better than a common Galra monster." He sighed deeply. "The Balmera are sacred beings. If I want the crystal, then I have to ask it."

"Oh," Hunk said, lowering his weapon to gaze at the soft light. "How do you ask? Is it like with the princess and her mice?"

Coran chuckled. "Sort of. But it's deeper than that, more personal. By asking for this, I'm connecting my life force with the Balmera's. If it agrees to give us the crystal, it's acknowledging my oath to return and heal it in the exchange process."

"That's why the elder meant when she said a sign of trust," Hunk said, beginning to understand. "She didn't mean her trust. She meant the Balmera's."

Coran nodded. A moment later, the ground rumbled and both Coran and Hunk stepped away from the crystal. Hunk watched in amazement as the ground crumbled away from the crystal allowing it to tip to the side, waiting to be taken away. The Altean advisor smiled.

"It trusts me," he whispered in awe.

"You say that like it was your first time getting one of these," Hunk said wryly.

"It was."

Hunk stared at Coran for a moment. "I'm not sure if I'm proud of you or if I should be yelling at you for getting us in danger," he said.

"Both probably," the advisor said with a wink.

He stood back when Shay approached them. Hunk turned to the Balmeran, stepping aside so she could take the crystal. "I am glad," she said, lifting the crystal with ease. "Since the Balmera trusts you, then I hope you take this with our blessing. Heal you friend and return to us as you promised."

"We will," Hunk said.

* * *

Sendak gazed at the fallen prince in pleased silence. If he'd known the boy would scream like that, he would have done this sooner. As it was now, he could no longer strike the Altean without leaving another mark on him. However, considering the silence he now had, he could focus on getting this ship off this godforsaken rock.

He fiddled absently with his prize. The salve Sendak had Haxus apply to the prince's back had healed the more serious wounds so they no longer posed a threat to the prisoner's life now covered the entire right half of the Altean's face. It wasn't much, but it would ensure the brat lived long enough to be delivered to Zarkon even in this state.

Something flashed in the corner of his eye and he turned to the control panel. He tapped the flashing symbol and a video feed showed three people running down the Castle halls towards the bridge. How had they gotten inside? He checked the status of the particle barrier and hummed thoughtfully. The saboteur must have gotten to it. That must be what had distracted Haxus from his duty. A mild annoyance only.

"Well," he said aloud. "It appears you and I will have more guests sooner than expected."

He received no response except the silence and smiled, pleased.


	29. PART 2 - 29: Cold as Death

**A/N:** If y'all think I should up the rating for this fic based on the last scene, let me know and I'll do it. As usual, I'll edit this seriously tomorrow morning. I'm seriously tired right now. That said, good night my adorably optimistic readers.

Sweet dreams~ **  
**

 **Warning:** There is some gore near the end. It's not a lot nor is it detailed, but just a friendly FYI to those who're a bit sensitive to that kind of thing.

 **Chapter summary:** In which Hunk is hopeful, Pidge is furious, Keith is less than sane, and Sendak gets what's coming to him, at a price. **  
**

* * *

 **29: Cold as Death  
**

Everything had been going well so far so naturally that's when everything stopped going well. Or, at least, that's what Hunk thought when he rounded the corner of the tunnel with Shay and Coran. Over a dozen Galra sentries stood in front Hunk and his friends, blocking the main tunnel back to their pod. Shay gave a cry of despair and dropped the crystal she held. For a moment, Hunk thought it was from seeing the Galra. But then he saw who was standing in front of the sentries: Rax.

"No," Shay moaned. "Rax, why?"

The male Balmeran glared hard at Hunk and Coran. "These ones bring only pain and despair to our family," he said. "I did this to save you from their Altean tales."

"But this one," Shay said, pointing to Coran, _"is_ Altean."

"And which one was it who told you this?" Rax demanded.

"It's true," Coran said, stepping forward so he stood in front of their little group. "Although I understand your doubt, doubt does not change the facts."

"I told her," Hunk said, placing a hand on Coran's shoulder when the Galra sentries pointed their weapons at Coran. If someone was going to get shot at around here, it was going to be him. He was the one with a weapon to fight back and armor to protect him. He drew his bayard and activated it in preparation for the coming attack.

However, before any fire could be exchanged, Shay dropped to her knees and placed her hands on the ground. A soft glow like what filled the crystal when Coran 'spoke' to the Balmera appeared around her hand and the Balmera moaned. To the yellow paladin's shock, large chunks of rock detached themselves from the earthen ceiling and fell to the ground, crushing the sentries where they stood. Rax alone remained unscathed.

"The elder will hear of this brother," Shay said, standing and taking the crystal back into her arms. "These ones have the Balmera's blessing."

"The Balmera cannot bless these ones," Rax shot back angry and frightened by his home's rejection of his attempt to save his family. "Why would She offer aid to the skylings when they bring death and separation to our family?"

"It is not for us to know Her will," Shay said. "We will understand when She is ready to tell us."

Rax shook his head. "That is too long," he cried.

"For you perhaps," Shay said, turning her back on her brother to head for an alternate route. "But not for the Balmera."

Without another word, Shay left her brother there alone on the ground. Hunk stood still feeling very much like an outsider during the siblings' fight. He applauded Shay's will to stand her ground, but he also felt sorry for her. It was never easy leaving loved ones to suffer the consequences when they made a mistake. Then again, this argument was tame compared to the one between Allura and Lance that he'd listened in on with Coran.

"I'm sorry you had to do that," Hunk said.

Shay's eyes saddened. "As am I," she said softly, never slowing her pace. "If my brother has informed the Galra of your presence, then it will not be long before they find your ship. You must flee this place."

She turned a corner and Hunk was surprised to find himself standing in front of the pod. They were closer than he though they were. Either that or the Balmera was helping them. He looked up at the ceiling of the tunnel suspiciously. The Balmera was alive and, according to Shay and the Balmerans, female. Was it really so farfetched to consider the Balmera morphing the tunnels dug within Her body to aid Her people? Who knows. Maybe She moved her tunnels around to confuse the Galra when they use Her body as a mine.

Hunk hurried forward to help Say place the crystal into the ship. Coran helped them with the crystal's placement so its weight would unbalance the ship during flight. Hunk felt slightly guilty for not doing any of the heavy lifting like he was originally supposed to. It was considered polite to make a lady carry everything.

"Sorry," he said startling Shay who stared at him curiously.

"Why do you apologize?" she asked.

The yellow paladin shuffled his feet awkwardly. "For, you know, making you carry the crystal all the way here on your own," he scratched his head, "and making you defend us against the Galra, and just, you know, helping us in general. You didn't have to."

Shay smiled gently. "Worry not Hunk," she said. "I would not have helped you had I not wanted to. You have given me hope and promised to help heal my home." She gripped the yellow paladin's shoulders firmly. "That is more than I have received in many periods."

Hunk blushed and rested one of his own hands on Shay's. "I just wish I could make it up to you somehow," he said. "My mother would have given me a serious talking to for making you do all the work."

Shay laughed. "You shall, Hunk," she said. "Fulfill your promise to the Balmera and my people. Show us this freedom you speak of and I will consider the debt repaid in full."

"You got it, Shay," Hunk said chuckling. "Just one question."

"Yes?"

"What's a 'turn'?"

"You do not have turns on your faraway world?" Shay asked, genuinely intrigued.

"A turn is generally considered the be approximately ten cycles," Coran chirped, popping his head out of the pod. He was watching Hunk and Shay with a sparkle in his eyes that warned the yellow paladin's face. "It varies from planet to planet, but the general timescale for a turn in the universe is ten cycles."

"So basically it's a week," Hunk said. "Yeah, weeks on Earth are seven days."

"Seven?" Coran repeated. "Such an unusual number."

"It has to do with myths and seven being a lucky number and all that I think," Hunk said, reluctantly stepping away from Shay's grasp. "I've never actually thought about it before."

Coran chortled. "Yes well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I think we should be going." His expression softened into genuine regret. "We have to make sure Lance and Allura are doing well. If we can get Lance healed and the Castle airborne, we can be back here in a few cycles."

"Coran," Hunk asked semi-seriously, "are you being optimistic?"

"Ridiculously so," the advisor said with a cheeky grin.

The group laughed as Hunk finally climbed into the pod. He looked back over his shoulder to see Shay standing where he left her, watching him. There was a gleam in her eyes that hadn't been there when he and Coran had arrived on Balmera. It took him a minute to recognize it for what it was. Hope.

Shay had hope.

He smiled and waved to her. "See you Tuesday," he hollered over the roar of the pod's engine as Coran took the controls and lifted off the ground.

Shay's eyebrows pulled down at the unfamiliar word but she smiled and waved nevertheless. It warmed Hunk's heart.

"What's a Tuesday?" Coran asked as the flew out of the tunnel and out into the large mining hole.

Hunk couldn't answer him right away because between holding on to his armrests for dear life and holding the contents of his stomach _in_ his stomach required too much focus.

* * *

If the Galra expected Lance's screams to demoralize Pidge, they were wrong. It infuriated Pidge and fueled his determination to _win._ The prince's screams were still pouring from the Castle's speakers when the green paladin struck.

He grit his teeth and glared at the Galra soldier standing on the glowing green cord connecting his bayard blade to his handle. Perfect. Pidge yanked his bayard handle, jerking the cord out from the Galra's foot knocking him off balance. Pidge used the opportunity to loop the cord around the Galra's leg and pulled.

The Galra shouted what was probably a curse and stumbled, struggling to regain his balance. Unfortunately for him, he ran out of room on the catwalk. Pidge dove to the right swinging his right leg out as he went. That was the final blow. The Galra flailed balancing precariously on the razor edge of the catwalk. Pidge groaned the Galra's stubbornness.

"Why don't you just die, you fucking bastard!" he yelled.

Rover sped past the green paladin's shoulder startling him and slammed into the Galra's face. His balance was completely thrown off and he fell backwards. However, before Rover could escape the Galra's reach, it was caught by a flailing clawed hand. It beeped frantically.

"Rover!" Pidge cried.

No way. No way was he going to make it through this far and lose his friend now. No way in hell.

"Fuck you!" he shouted.

He slung his bayard with as much strength as he could muster. The buzzing, green blade flew through the air landing solidly in the Galra's face. Instantly the purple bastard fell limp, his hand slipped from Rover's metal body, and he fell. Pidge knelt by the edge and held out his arms for Rover to zip into. The moment the little robot was pressed against chest, Pidge wrapped his arms around it and squeezed.

"They already take my family from me," he said. "I'm not letting them take you too."

Rover beeped loudly and flashed. No. Rover hadn't beeped loudly. It had been a rather soft beep actually. So then why did…

Lance.

Pidge's eyes grew round and he stared up at the ceiling where the speakers were. Lance had fallen silent. While Pidge didn't want the prince to suffer, at least he knew Lance was alive as long as he was screaming. After all the noise, the sudden silence was oppressive and terrifying.

He'd make them pay. He'd make them all pay. The Galra had stolen from him and almost stole from him again. Like hell he was going to get away with that. Where would the bastard on who spoke to Lance be hiding?

Pidge ran over the conversation he'd listened in on between the Galra soldier and his commander before he tried to start the engine. What had the commander said? The bridge is go or something like that.

The bridge was a logical place to start looking. At the very least, Pidge could maybe play around with the technology on the bridge to make take-off a bit more difficult. Anything to make the Galra's life miserable. He clutched Rover and stood.

"Think you can get us back up to that vent, buddy?" he asked.

The hoverbot beeped proudly and flew up with Pidge still holding onto it. It caught the paladin off guard, but brought a smile to his face. With Rover by his side, he could do some serious damage.

"We make a good team, Rover," he said climbing into the vent tunnel.

Rover beeped and did a little twirl before darting ahead of the green paladin, lighting the way.

* * *

When her brother's suddenly cut off, Allura feared the worst. She looked at Keith, gauging his reaction to judge her brother's condition. The red paladin was standing stock still, eyes wide and ears erect and facing forward. A tick later, the halfbreed's ears folded back against Keith's dark hair and he snarled, racing forward again. Allura quickly followed with Shiro by his side.

"Let's hope the silence is a good thing," Shiro murmured, voicing their worry aloud. "Pidge," he said into his communicator, "we're in the Castle. A-Katie got the particle barrier down. Where are you?"

 _"What?"_ Pidge gasped. _"How did she do that from outside? Scratch that. How did she get past the sentries? Did you all get in?"_

"She used her mice," Shiro said, cracking a smile. "Never thought the day would be saved by a bunch of mice."

 _"I know. Talk about some Disney shit right there,"_ Pidge said. _"I got rid of one of the Galra."_

"What? Was it a sentry or-"

 _"It was a real one,"_ Pidge said. _"He didn't have any fur like Keith. He looked almost reptilian. His commander's got Lance. I think they're on the bridge."_

"That bastard," Keith growled. "It's Sendak."

"Sendak?" Shiro and Allura gasped.

"You know him?" Allura asked Shiro in surprise.

Shiro's face was grim as he spoke. "Yeah. It was his battlecruiser I escaped when I first went to Earth."

Keith snorted. "Nice job."

"Thanks."

"Sendak was the one who punched my brother," Allura said, her face dark with fury. "If I get there and Lance isn't in perfect condition, I'll rip his guts out."

"That..." Shiro trailed off staring at the princess running next to him, oddly impressed.

 _"I really like you,"_ Pidge said.

"If there's anything left of him when I'm done with him," Keith said coldly.

 _"I'll meet you all at the bridge,"_ Pidge said. _"I'm getting close now so I have to stop talking. Maybe I can give one of my little upgrades to my armor a trial run."_

"Understood," Shiro said. "Good luck."

* * *

Sendak watched his three guests running to the bridge on the video feed in amusement. For this reason, he wasn't surprised to hear their footsteps in the hall behind him. Nor did the sight of their weapons intimidate him. The war cry issued by the red paladin, however, did catch him off guard.

"Impossible," he muttered, staring at the fast approaching paladin in shock. Ticks before the red paladin could bring down his sword on Sendak's shoulder, the commander raised his mechanical left arm allowing it to take the hit. The ring of metal on metal was a sound any Galra appreciated. The thrill of the battle flooded Sendak's veins, fueling his strength.

"So," he said, parrying the red paladin's attacks with ease. "The halfbreed lives."

"Where is he?" Keithek shrieked, slamming his bayard sword down on Sendak's well-armored left arm once more. "Where _is he?!"_

Before the commander could answer, he parried what could have been a fatal blow from the black paladin's glowing purple hand. Well well.

"Champion," he said. "You escape my grasp only to return like a moth to a flame."

"Go to hell," the Champion cursed, striking at the commander once more.

"The Druid's certainly made your weapon formidable. However," Sendak slashed at the human viciously, "you didn't get the latest upgrade."

The Champion's presence here was no something Sendak had anticipated. The Champion was well-known among the Galra for his viciousness in battle and his unbroken winning streak. Sendak, as well as other Galra, had expressed an interest in battling the Champion in hand-to-hand combat. No time like the present, he supposed.

But where was the third guest? Ah. There he was. She, Sendak corrected himself after glimpsing the difference in build between this guest and the black and red paladins. The woman struck out with her legs, aiming low. Fortunately for her, she connected with Sendak's knee. Unfortunately for her, Sendak's Druid-enhanced arm was more than a toy. He willed his arm to extend, planting the metal claws in the floor of the bridge farther back, and hauled himself back to join it.

"The Champion, a halfbreed, and a woman facing me together," he jeered. "If you were Galra, I might actually be intimidated. However," he crouched, ready to attack, "seeing as you're not, you're nothing a but a nuisance."

Movement and a flash of color caught Sendak's attention and he glanced to his left in time to see the green paladin race to the control platform. The saboteur froze when Sendak caught sight of him making himself a perfect target. The commander slung his huge arm at the green paladin.

He was surprised when his hand met no resistance. The green paladin's image fuzzed and vanished infuriating the commander. "A hologram?" he roared, spinning on his heel to look around the room for the saboteur. "Where are you, you obnoxious brat?"

"I'd pay more attention to us, if I were you," the Champion snapped moments before Sendak was forced to dodge another attack.

"Where is her, Sendak?" the halfbreed demanded furiously. "Where is Lance?"

Snedak grinned, tilting his head back to avoid a kick from the woman's powerful legs. "He's here. He's resting. The strain was a bit too much for him, I'm afraid," he said with a smirk. "His berry-muncher blood was simply too weak to take a little play."

"What did you do to Lance?" the woman demanded, lashing out with her fists. She was certainly fast, Sendak noticed.

"Ah, you must be 'Katie'," Sendak purred, blocking the Champion's attack and kicking the halfbreed aside, knocking him to the ground. "You should be pleased to know the prince worried about you. He must care for you. More than he cares about his mate, it would seem," he added, tossing a leer at the frenzied halfbreed.

Keithek roared and faked a slash down low, leaping up onto Sendak's arm when the Galra commander fell for the trick. Sendak only had a moment to comprehend the red paladin's new position before the halfbreed swung his bayard blade down into the purple energy connecting Sendak's Druid-enhanced arm with his shoulder. The interrupted flow of energy severed the connection causing Sendak's arm to fall uselessly to the floor.

"No!" he fumed. "You filthy halfbreed."

Sendak grabbed the red paladin by the head when he landed back on the floor after severing the commander's arm and threw him across the room. The solid thud and squeak of metal on metal as the halfbreed slid across the floor was gratifying to Sendak's ears.

"You fraking son of a Magog," the woman cursed angrily. "Where is he? Where is Lance? Quiznack you, where is my _brother?"_

Brother?

Startled, Sendak spun to the woman in shock. Brother? The prince was this woman's brother? Then that would make her the princess. Which meant the prince had been a decoy this whole time.

"Impossible," he murmured.

"Yeah," a new voice said from behind Sendak. "About as impossible as you falling for my hologram trick, you motherfucker."

He never got the chance to turn around before something struck his metal shoulder and electrocuted him. He roared in pain, collapsing to his knees as his body spasmed violently under the onslaught of the electric current. The next thing he saw was the Champion's fist slamming into his face throwing him back to the floor. He slid back to the control platform in the center of the room eventually pushing himself back to his feet.

However, before he could launch a counterattack, a barrier of energy slammed into place around the platform, surrounding him and separating him from the paladins and the princess. He looked up and saw the princess herself standing at one of the control panels by the wall. She had been the one to imprison him.

"Guys!" Pidge said.

Sendak growled from his makeshift prison as the princess took charge.

"Shiro, contact Hunk and Coran," the princess said, never taking her eyes off of Sendak for a moment. "Get ready to help them get rid of the Galra's crystal and replace it with our own. Pidge-"

"Guys," Pidge said again. "I think you need to see this. Keith found Lance."

"Lance?" the princess gasped, tearing her gaze from Sendak to focus on the green paladin. "Where is he? Keith?"

Sendak felt his lips twitch up as too turned to where the saboteur sat on the floor. The paladin's eyes were grim which just served to fuel his satisfaction. The Champion and the princess ran to the green paladin's side.

The red paladin was there too, Sendak noticed in amusement. He must have thrown the halfbreed towards the prince without realizing it. He snorted. The sight must have struck the halfbreed silent. That explained why he hadn't returned to the battle after Sendak threw him back.

He watched as the princess gently rolled the prince's still form over. Her broken cry was music to his ears. The halfbreed's despairing keen the sweetest honey on his lips. The black paladin's horrified curse brought a smile to his face and the sound of green paladin's dry heaving pulled the laughter from his throat.

Princess," he called, pleased when she turned to him instantly. He pulled out his prize and held it out to her, knowing she could not take it so long as the particle barrier separated them. "Missing something?"

In his hand was a bloody white orb. It lay in his palm so a ring of dark blue around a black dot faced Sendak's audience. The commander smiled and crushed the eyeball in his fist.

 _"NO!"_ Allura shrieked.

However, it wasn't Allura who charged him. It was the halfbreed who stood and smashed his hand against the control panel lifting the particle barrier. The last thing Sendak saw was the red paladin's crazed purple and gold gaze as the halfbreed plunged his bayard sword into Sendak's unprotected chest.

Sendak smiled. He may have lost this skirmish, but he'd still won battle. These children had no chance against Emperor Zarkon.

Vrepit sa.


	30. PART 2 - 30: Frozen Over

**A/N:** love how you all think Sendak is completely dead. If he was, how would my favorite arc/episode Crystal Venom happen? Also, I feel I should give y'all a hint of a few good things that are coming soon. In no particular order:

1) New characters  
2) Lance's eye replacement (he's a sharpshooter, he needs both eyes)  
3) Klance fluff/smut  
4) Shallura fluff  
5) A good surprise  
6) More rough patches

 **FYI:** I listened to the song _I Want to Spend My Lifetime Loving You_ from the movie  Zorro: The Mask of Zorro on loop. Just in case anyone wants to know the mood I was in while writing this, listen to that song while reading this. Expect feels in this chapter, but nothing traumatizing. That said, I'm going to bed now. I'll edit this tomorrow. Night y'all. Stick around for more. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which everyone just tries to cope and no sleep is to be had. **  
**

* * *

 **30: Frozen Over  
**

Even without his arm, Sendak was strong. Keithek instinctively knew the commander had him beat when it came to a battle of physical strength. But Keithek had long ago accepted that this was generally true for all Galra. He was just smaller and leaner built than the majority of the Galra race. Even the females tended to be larger than he was. That was an insult to his alpha instincts. But it was a reality he had accepted.

However, accepting something didn't mean he liked it. He hated it when the larger Galra manhandled him like Sendak and Haxus had. He'd trained himself to be fast and fight without planning ahead. He could think on his feet, making split-tick decisions faster than most Galra, giving a slight advantage in fights with a race that relied heavily on brute force tactics.

He experienced that brute force now when Sendak grabbed him by the head and tossed him to the ground like he was nothing. He tumbled across the floor before his shoulder plate caught a crease in the metal plates on the floor and he ended up skidding. He was stopped when his back hit something solid but gave way somewhat from the force of his body. Something inside him tingled when he touched the solid object and he knew instantly what it was.

"Lance," he cried.

Keithek flipped himself over to face his mate, immensely grateful for his Galra vision which made seeing in low light easy. He could see Lance's form crumbled on the floor completely unresponsive to the noise and stimulation around him. It was disturbing to see the prince so uncharacteristically still. There was also this part of Keithek that screamed at him, telling him his mate was hurt, see to his mate, make sure his mate was alright. He knew Lance was alive, but nothing else.

Lance lay on his right side so his back faced the view screen, hiding his face in shadow. His blue clothes were ripped and speckled with what Keithek knew to be blood. His arms were behind his back at what was probably an awkward angle, probably bound. Keithek pushed himself up from the floor and crawled up to his mate's side and noticed the dark, reddish liquid puddling beneath Lance's head.

A quivering sense of dread began to settle in Keithek's stomach. With shaking hands, he gently rolled his unconscious mate over so Lance lay on his back. Keithek gripped Lance's chin and turned it so the light from the view screen shown on it. Only blood and gore remained where the prince's right eye had once been. It shocked him silent. Lance's chin slipped form Keithek's numb fingers, lolling back to the side.

The red paladin was vaguely aware of the green paladin scurrying to Lance's side and noticing something was wrong right away. Then Allura was there and Shiro. Their voices were murky and unclear, blurring with the cacophony of dread and misery. All but Sendak's voice, that is.

He looked up just in time to see Sendak crush Lance's eyeball, destroying any chance of retrieving it and attempting to reattach it. His mate had lost his eye because he'd left him alone. He had failed his mate. He had failed his _mate._ He had given Sendak the opportunity to harm Lance. Sendak had even taken a prize, like a victor did to those they defeated. Then the bastard had crushed it indicating Lance's loss had been insignificant.

Sendak hurt Lance and insulted him.

Unforgivable.

The alpha instincts deep within Keithek blazed to the forefront blinding him to anything but the monster responsible for disrespecting and harming _his_ mate. He didn't remember standing and drawing his weapon. All he could think about was the Galra bastard standing there had to die.

The next moment, Keithek found himself in the air, his bayard sword gripped tightly in his right hand. He brought the tip of the blade down onto the bastard's exposed chest as close to the heart as he could get in his crazed state. The satisfying squelch of the razor sharp blade slicing through flesh accompanied by the splatter of warm blood and the bastard's choked cough of the Galra salute rang in his ears.

"Vrepit sa."

Keithek pushed all of his weight onto the sword, pushing it deeper until the bastard thudded dully on the floor at his feet. Barely able to comprehend what was happening beyond the immediate knowledge that the bastard that harmed his mate was dead or soon would be, Keithek deactivated his bayard. He staggered, turned, and stumbled back to where Lance lay.

He couldn't make out the words of the others around him. He could only think of Lance, only see his face like it was the light at the end of a long tunnel that was closing in around him. Keithek fell to his knees and placed hands on either side of his mate's face, feeling the smooth skin and warm blood under his palms.

Lance's lone eye remained closed and, if his right eye had not been empty and filling with blood under a bruising eyelid, Keithek would have believed his mate was just sleeping. There was something else besides the blood covering the right side of the prince's face. It had a sheen to it and was gelatin in texture. Keithek pulled his fingers back and examined the substance absently, smelling it.

It was a basic Galran field medication used to patch injuries. It was a temporary fix only and not meant to cure fatal wounds. It had slowed the bleeding, however, and would begin to aid in the healing process as long as it remained in place. Nevertheless, if Lance had any chance of surviving this, Keithek needed to get the prince into one of the Castle's healing pods.

With a solid goal in mind, Keithek tenderly gathered his mate up in his arms, disregarding the blood that leaked onto his armor. Lance's head slumped forward so it lay nestled against Keithek's armored chest just below his shoulder.

Someone, he couldn't tell who, reached out as if to take Lance away from him. He clamped his mate close to him and bared his teeth at the person in a vicious snarl. He would die before he let his mate out of his sight, especially right now when his mate needed him most. When it was Keithek's fault his mate was in this state in the first place.

The hand retreated quickly to a distance Keithek deemed acceptable and he calmed. Taking care not to jostle his mate's disturbingly still body in his arms, Keithek stood and began walking. He adjusted his grip so his sharp claws didn't dig too deeply into his mate's flesh. He wasn't consciously aware of anything except the fact that he had to reach the healing pods now.

The Galra crystal wasn't ideal but it channeled power to the healing pods which was exactly what his mate needed right now. He just had to get there. He shook off a hand that rested on his shoulder. It wasn't trying to stop him so he didn't reject it entirely, but it was an attempt to get his attention. Nothing needed his attention right now. Just his mate and his goal.

Something yellow blurred across his vision like a distant dream but Keithek dismissed it. The healing pods weren't yellow, therefore the dream didn't deserve his attention. He blinked when the dim purple glow suddenly vanished leaving him and his mate in absolute darkness. His Galra vision sharpened only to be blinded by a blindingly bright turquoise light.

Wincing as his eyes pricked painfully under the light's assault, Keithek continued moving forwards. He didn't know how long he walked. It felt like forever and it felt like a mere tick. However long it was, he blinked and was greeted by the sight of a healing pod standing ready before him. The shield vanished and he stepped inside the pod.

Keithek couldn't sleep with his mate, but he could stay close by. He eased his mate's legs down so Lance's feet touched the floor. He situated Lance's body so the prince slumped against the back of the healing pod. He didn't let go until the pod's systems activated, holding hid mate's body securely in place. Only then did Keithek step out of the pod to watch the shield slide into place before the cryogenic healing process began.

He lifted a hand and rested it on the pod's transparent shield over his mate's heart. Lance's head remained still, his lone eye closed in a healing sleep. Keithek keened and rested his forehead against the shield's surface. Seeing his mate like this hurt. It felt like someone had clawed his heart out of his chest and held it in front of his as he struggled to stay alive. Keithek knew if Lance didn't survive this, there was a very little chance he would survive either.

Ah, the trappings of being mated.

He laughed. His shoulders shook as he laughed. He laughed until his knees quivered and gave way beneath him. He laughed as he sank to the floor, propped up only by the pod's shield as close to his mate as he could get. He laughed until the laughter became sobs. He wept until he couldn't anymore. Then he just sat and stared at nothing.

* * *

Hunk could barely believe his eyes. He had never seen the red paladin in such a vulnerable state before. He certainly never wanted to see it again. Watching Keith like this felt like a severe intrusion of privacy, but it was difficult to look away. This had not been what he'd been expecting when he got back to the Castle with Coran and the new crystal. Nothing had been what he'd been expecting.

The first thing Hunk saw when he and Coran crashed back through the atmosphere of Arus was the Castle's purple glow. It was just wrong in so many ways. When they landed the pod, he'd run out with his bayard activated and ready to fight. But only Shiro stood there looking lost and frantic.

"Do you have the crystal?" he demanded without even so much as a 'hello.'

"Of course we do," Coran said, stepping out of the pod and studying the black paladin suspiciously. "Why? What's happened? Why is the Castl-"

"There's no time," Shiro said. "Hunk, Coran, help me get the crystal to the chamber."

He ran to the crystal and between the three of them managed to lift it and haul the thing into the lift.

"What happened?" Hunk asked his uncharacteristically disheveled friend and leader. "Shiro? Is Lance-"

"Later," Shiro said curtly, crouching to pick up the crystal again.

Hunk quickly helped. Coran did his best to guide the two paladins to the crystal chamber and keep an eye on the crystal itself so it didn't overbalance and fall to the floor and shatter. Hunk was a bit disturbed by the eerie purple light filtering dimly from the lamps on the Castle's walls. They barely cast any light leaving the majority of the place in shadow. It was disturbing.

Thank Pele the walk from the lift to the crystal chamber wasn't too far. They passed Keith holding Lance in his arms and looked like he'd seen a ghost. Pidge was trailing behind Keith, watching the red paladin carefully as if he expected Keith to walk into a wall or something. Allura was awake and running ahead of Keith and Pidge towards the healing pods chamber.

Hunk's thoughts were quickly distracted by carrying the crystal into the crystal chamber and leveraging it up onto the platform in the middle of the room.

"Wait," he said, setting the crystal down. "What the heck is that thing doing here?" he asked, pointing to the large crystal pulsing a dull purple. "If you already found a cry-"

"It's the Galra's," Shiro said, quickly unhooking the crystal from the Castle and yanking the connections away from the platform. He heaved the purple crystal aside to make room for the crystal Hunk and Coran had brought back.

"The Galra's?" Coran cried. "How did-"

"Look," Shiro snapped, "I'll explain everything but you have to get that crystal in place now. Talk later."

Coran flinched at the black paladin's fear fueled anger. Hunk watched his friend as Shiro helped the yellow paladin heave the Balmeran crystal onto the platform. Shiro wasn't wearing his armor helmet and his hair was a mess, almost as if he'd run his fingers through it anxiously for a while. Shiro's eyes were wide and filled with worry. Something had happened while Hunk and Coran were gone and whatever it was, it was severely affecting Shiro.

Coran nudged the crystal so it sat in the center of the platform before stepping back. A second later, a beam of light shone from the ceiling down on the crystal. Hunk's mouth dropped open as the Balmeran crystal he'd had trouble carrying here lifted easily into the air. It rose up to the ceiling, settling into the slot the previous crystal occupied with a soft grating sound. There was a rumbling sound followed by a bright light as the crystal began powering the Castle.

The lights returned to their soothing turquoise and Hunk smiled.

"We did it," Coran said proudly, placing a hand on Hunk's shoulder fondly.

"Yeah," Hunk said, slapping his own hand on Coran's forearm. "We did."

His smile faded when he heard footsteps running away. When he turned around, he was surprised to see Shiro was gone.

"Shiro?" he called.

There was no reply but Hunk could still hear his friend running down the hallway. So he did the only logical thing to do in this kind of situation: chase after Shiro. With the power restored to the Castle, the hallways were lit brightly and Hunk could see clearly where he was going. Coran caught up with him then passed him which galvanized the yellow paladin into admitting that yes, he did need to work out more.

After a couple turns, Hunk realized where they were going. He burst into the healing pod chamber just in time to see Keith collapse against the pod that held Lance's unconscious body in hysterical laughter that was mixed with sobs. Keith's red and white armor was disturbingly more red than usual.

It dripped and Hunk realized the red smeared on Keith's armor wasn't paint, it was blood. But whose… He looked up at Lance in the healing pod and immediately wished he hadn't. The price's right eye was completely gouged out, the eyelid falling on the bleeding flesh of his cheek. It looked like Lance was weeping tears of blood. Strangely, Hunk's stomach didn't rebel at the sight like he thought it would. Instead, he just felt empty.

"What happened?" he breathed.

Pidge clutched Rover to his chest tightly and bit his lips, trying to control himself. Shiro stood silently, staring at the Altean's form in horror and guilt. Allura had tears visible on her cheeks but she didn't sob openly like Keith did. Instead, she sat down in the middle of the pod chamber and tried to keep herself in control.

"The Galra got in the Castle," she said. Her voice was uneven and deeper than usual from the pent up emotions. "They captured Lance and…" She swallowed and took a deep breath to steady herself. Her lower lip quivered as she continued. "They, uh, they locked us out. We couldn't get in. They raised the particle barrier." She furiously brushed another tear from her eye. "Pidge was the only one inside. We got in but… The Galra commander ripped out Lance's eye," she said, finally sobbing. "We couldn't get it back. He crushed it." She pressed the palms of her hands over her eye and wept. "He _crushed_ it."

Hunk felt his stomach drop. He knew there was more, so much more, that hadn't been said. But he also knew no one was in a position to talk about it right now. He looked at Coran and wasn't surprised to see the advisor shaking like a young tree in a storm. Hunk stepped down into the lower level of the healing pod chamber and sat on the step.

It took some encouragement, but Coran eventually sunk to the floor next to the yellow paladin. The advisor buried his face in his hands and rested his forearms on his knees, his shoulders shaking from his quiet tears. Hunk rested a hand on Coran's back and kept it there. They both needed comforting right now. They _all_ needed comforting right now.

* * *

Shiro bowed his head and turned to the princess sitting on the floor miserably. He strode up to her and sat by her side, pulling her into his arms. Allura latched onto the black paladin, clinging to him as she cried her heart out. Tears brimmed Shiro's eyes too and he didn't bother trying to fight them. He was too tired, to exhausted physically and mentally to cry but the tears still flowed.

Pidge clung his hoverbot and sank to his knees between Hunk and Coran and Shiro and Allura. His small body quivered with tears and Shiro couldn't resist reaching out and resting a hand on the green paladin's helmet. Pidge looked up at Shiro with wide, teary eyes and he smiled gently.

"You did good," he said. "You father would be proud of you."

Pidge squeezed his eyes shut and let himself lean against Shiro's side and cry. Shiro's smile gentled as he pulled Pidge close. Hunk and Coran were clearly still trying to process the unexpected turn of events, but they hadn't moved from the step. Shiro doubted they would.

He looked up at Keithek and wished he could help. But he knew there was nothing he could do for the red paladin except wait for Lance to wake up. So he held the princess and Pidge tightly and settled in for a long night. No one was going to sleep tonight.


	31. PART 2 - 31: Warmth of Family

**A/N:** To prove I do have a heart, I present to you fluff...after more feels. I chose Allura's and Lance's siblings' and mother's names from a list of lots of choices. In order from eldest to youngest:

 **Mother:** Lakshmi  
 **1)** Aldrun (male)  
 **2)** Lauma (female)  
 **3)** Allura (female)  
 **4)** Lance (male)  
 **5)** Alwida (female)  
 **6)** Latif (male)

See the pattern in the alliteration? It's deliberate. You'll start getting more sneak peeks of the royal family pre-Great War as the story continues. Their deaths will also be dealt with soon. However, I included some detail in this chapter. I tend to choose names for OC characters and places (planets) that have meanings I think are pertinent to the character. But I also prefer to keep OCs to a minimum as best I can. They move the plot forward for the main characters, nothing else.

There is some light gore in the beginning of this chapter followed by angst and cavity inducing fluff.

If you don't know what muriatic acid is, feel free to either look it up or wait until it's explained in the story. There's no spoilers there, just a plot point. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Lance wakes up and has a meaningful talk with Keith and Coran is a bad influence. **  
**

* * *

 **31: Warmth of Family  
**

He stood staring at the starbugs sparkling in the grass and rising to dart between the many colorful lanterns swaying in the breeze. Above them, Altea's sister planet Achlys moved across the sky towards the setting Daystar. Or, it wasn't called Achlys anymore was it?

A starbug flashed in front of his face and he smiled watching the tiny bug fly against the mountain wind towards its brethren. Alteans of all walks of life stood in the Plain of Flowers to watch the Daystar set heralding the beginning of the annual Juniberry Festival. Pennants, ribbons, and woven flower chains fluttered in a particularly strong gust from the orient that almost knocked him off his feet. staggered only to be caught by a pair of strong, gentle hands. He blinked and looked down at the hands holding him. They were a light purple color with short, sharp nails. He followed the arms up to their owner's face and wasn't surprised to see Keith standing there.

Why wasn't he surprised?

Keith smiled and pressed a kiss to Lance's eye scale sending a shiver up the prince's spine. He closed his eyes and hummed, leaning back in Keith's arms and allowed himself to be supported.

When he opened his eyes, Allura was there handing him a cup of juniberry juice. The scent of the pungent berries wafted up to his nose. It was wonderful. He held the cup up to Keith who sniffed it and promptly wrinkled his nose at the strong smell, eyeing the drink suspiciously. Lance snickered and pulled the cup back down to a more comfortable position and looked back to the setting Daystar.

The juice smelled odd.

Voices he knew and some he didn't filled the air, dancing around the music like a perfectly woven tapestry. It warmed his heart. It wouldn't be long now before the festival began. Something tugged his shirt and he looked down to see Alwida staring up at him with her soulful eyes the same deep shade of blue as Lance's. She lifted her hands in a quiet plea to be held.

How could anyone resist those eyes. Lance obediently stepped free of Keith's hold and picked up his baby sister and proper her on his hip so she could see better. Squeals broke the atmosphere just as Latif, the youngest of the royal siblings of Altea, darted in front of Lance and Keith holding a frantically beeping and flashing hoverbot. Close on Latif's heels was a flailing Pidge and an endlessly put upon Aldrun, the eldest of the royal siblings.

Why was Pidge here?

Allura was doubled over laughing heartily at the sight with her older sister Lauma by her side supporting her. Granted Lauma couldn't do much supporting considering she was laughing just as hard as Allura. Many other Alteans joined in on the laughter and merrymaking until the traditional call for silence.

The tip of the Daystar still peeping over the far horizon blazed a fiery red as King Alfor stepped to the front of the group with his wife Queen Lakshmi. The king held up his glass of juniberry juice and Lance and the other Alteans present held up there's to catch the last rays of the Daystar.

Where was Alwida?

Silence broken only by the howling wind reigned. Lance shivered and looked into the wind. It was the equinox in the warm season. The wind shouldn't be this chilly.

The comforting hand resting on his hip lifted and rested atop the prince's hand holding the juniberry juice. Lance lifted his eyes to Keith's hand covering his own and furrowed his brows. Keith's hand was cold. He shivered again.

He never remembered the festival being this cold before.

The Daystar finally ducked below the horizon and a cheer rang across the mountainside as the festival began. Lance didn't drink his juice right away like the others probably would. Instead, he turned to face Keith and offered him the cup. Keith took the cup in surprise before bursting into a smile that lit up his face.

Don't drink it.

Screams began joining the cheers. Not the screams of children or of lovers, but of the pained and terrified. Why would people be afraid on such a sacred night as this?

Don't look.

Lance looked at the crowd and reeled back in awful horror. The Alteans, his people, were screaming and falling to the ground writhing and vomiting blood. People were coughing and dropping their cups to press their hands to their mouths desperately trying to keep their faces from melting away. Everything the juniberry juice hit as it splashed from the thrown cups melted and corroded in a steaming mess.

The cold crept into Lance's bones as he witnessed the terrible event. His eyes widened and he spun around in time to see Keith press the cup to his lips and take a huge gulp. Keith coughed, spraying blood and something that stung and ate at his skin on him.

No. No please.

Lance yanked the cup from Keith's hands and tossed it aside only to heard a startled shriek of agony. He whirled and saw Allura and Lauma scratching their faces to get the liquid eating them alive off. But it was useless.

Muriatic acid.

How did he know that?

 _"Did they scream as they died?"_

He stilled. No. That's not possible.

 _"Did you try to save them or did you flee from them, leaving them to their fates?"_

No. He clapped his hands over his ears and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out that voice and its damning questions.

 _"I think you stayed to watch them die."_

No!

 _"Did you enjoy it?"_

NO!

A hand slapped into his shoulder and swung him around so he faced Keith's bloody face as the muriatic acid ate away at it, slowly and painfully killing. Keith's other hand clamped down on his other shoulder holding him in place and preventing him from fleeing.

 _You knew exactly what you were doing, didn't you Altean?"_

Lance's hands slid from his ears as the voice pierced his mind matching Keith's dissolving lip flaps. It was Keith speaking but it wasn't his voice. It was Sendak's.

 _"Did you leave him to die after you escaped?"_ Keith gurgled in Sendak's hideous voice.

Lance trembled, unable to tear his gaze from Keith's disturbing face. His hands shook as he reached up to hover just above Keith's afraid to touch him but desperate for something to tell him this wasn't real. This was a lie. This was wrong. It was all _wrong!_

Keith's hand slid from Lance's right shoulder, brushing the razor sharp nails along the skin, pressing into his Mark. It hurt but he couldn't make a sound. He couldn't breathe. His knees gave out under Keith's superior strength. But it wasn't Keith's strength.

Slow, Sendak's smiling face superimposed itself over Keith's until Lance could barely differentiate them. He landed hard on his knees but the pressure didn't ease, it increased forcing him into the dirt. His head tilted back under the onslaught and Sendak's face grinned wider, revealing the bloody and destroyed remains of Keith's mouth.

A nail touched his eye scale and Lance knew what would happen next. He couldn't take. He didn't want this. He wouldn't survive it this time.

Had he survived it the first time?

This wasn't real. He chanted the mantra in this head as nails appeared in his field of vision, moving ever closer to his vulnerable eyeball. He couldn't scream. He couldn't run. This wasn't real. It wasn't real. It was a dream.

 _Wake up!_

"Wake up!"

His eye flew open and he stared up at the person hovering above him in shock. It took a moment for him to fully return to himself and comprehend what he was seeing. Lance was lying on his back in a bed with Keith on all fours, boxing him in and gazing down at him. Keith's violet and yellow eyes shone wetly and tear streaks sparkled on Keith's cheeks in the dim turquoise light of the lamps.

Turquoise.

Lance looked around him at the familiar turquoise light, too afraid to dare hope. He recognized the walls and the ceiling. The blankets that covered him were soft and warm over his cold body. This was his bedroom.

His gaze returned to Keith's face when the red paladin's fingers pressed gently against his left cheek. Keith's fingertips brushed lightly down Lance's cheek into his hair, combing through the strands with care. He looked lost for words. Lance was willing to bet they both did right now.

He swallowed his fear and released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Is this real?" he asked. His voice was hoarse and scratchy from screaming itself raw.

Keith pressed his lips together and nodded, worrying his lower lip between his teeth. "Y-yeah," he said in a voice that was just as abused as Lance's. "Yeah, it is."

Lance lifted his right hand and paused. He couldn't see his hand. Why couldn't he see his hand? He turned his hand and looked at his hand in confusion. He blinked and winced in pain when his right eyelid attempted to blink but something held it in place. Lance lowered his hand to his own face and felt the bandages covering the right side of his face.

This was real.

That had happened.

"Is it…gone?" he asked almost too softly to be heard.

Keith couldn't speak. He didn't have to. His expressive eyes gave everything away. Lance was too exhausted to scream or cry. He'd done enough of that when Sendak… He swallowed hard and forced the thought from his mind. He just sighed and let his hand drop weakly to the mattress next to his face.

"Are…are you alright?" Lance asked, studying Keith's face with his one eye.

Keith hesitated before nodding. "I'm not hurt," he said simply.

Lance forced a smile. "Al- Katie?"

"Allura's fine," Keith said. "So are the others. Hunk and Coran brought back a new crystal and we got the ship airborne."

"We're in space?" Lance asked turning his head so he could see the window. "When did we…?"

"Yesterday," Keith said.

"How long was…" Lance swallowed, feeling the fear begin to claw at his heart. He'd been put into a healing pod. How long had been in it this time? Keith was here so hopefully he hadn't been asleep for too long.

"Two days," Keith said.

Lance gazed at the red paladin quietly. Keith was paler than usual and there were dark circles and bags under his violet eyes. The ears Lance adored were flopped forward tiredly and Keith's dark purple-black hair hung lank on either side of his face.

"Have you slept?" Lance asked, concerned.

Keith's ears perked up slightly and he huffed a smile, leaning down to rest his forehead against Lance's. Keith's thumb brushed Lance's left eye scale and pressed gently. Lance sighed and let his eye close, absorbing what he could from the contact. Keith wasn't Altean so he couldn't feel Lance like Lance could feel Keith, but the action itself was intimate.

"Couldn't," Keith whispered, his hot breath teasing Lance's lips. "You hadn't woken up yet."

Lance lifted his left hand and covered Keith hand with his own. "You need to sleep," he said.

Keith shook his head minutely. "Not until you're well again," he said.

"You need to sleep," Lance said, easing open his one good eye. "I can't lose you."

Keith pressed his fingers harder into Lance's face, rubbing his thumb in gentle circles over the eye scale. Lance bit his tongue trying to keep from humming at the motion. He couldn't stop his eye from drifting shut and tilting his head into Keith's hand.

"You'll never lose me," Keith said. "Don't leave me."

Lance fought the fresh tears forming in his eye, hoping against hope that they wouldn't fall. "Is S- Is he dead?" he whispered, stumbling over Sendak's name.

He felt Keith nod his head. "In every way that matters," he said.

His eyebrows pulled down at the red paladin's word. "What do you mean?"

"The princess wants to get information out of him," Keith said, the faintest hint of disgust in his voice. "She put him in one of the cryopods on the lower levels of the Castle."

Lance hummed. "The prison pods," he murmured. "How did-"

"He should be dead," Keith growled, startling Lance's eye open. "I stabbed him," Keith said fiercely. "He should be _dead."_

"You stabbed him?" Lance asked, not sure if he heard the red paladin right.

Keith nodded, glancing at Lance uncomfortably. "I…" Lance waited while Keith struggled to find the right words to express himself. "I felt you," Keith tried again. "When Sendak hurt you," he clarified, "I felt it. I felt your pain. I couldn't think straight. I just… I had to find you. I had to stop him."

Lance's eye widened as Keith spoke. "You felt…this?"

The red paladin nodded slowly. "I felt like my mind was on fire," he said. "I could barely breathe. I felt like I would die if I didn't get to you."

Lance winced and looked away. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Keith's hand tightened on his face, urging the prince to look at him. " _Never_ say that," Keith said fiercely. "Ever. You're my mate. Nothing comes before you."

* * *

 _"You knew he wouldn't be able to resist his mate."_

* * *

Sendak's voice jabbed Lance's conscience cruelly like a serrated blade. He forced a smile and said nothing. He could tell Keith wasn't satisfied with Lance's concession, but he didn't press. Instead, he lowered his head beyond what Lance's lone eye could see and nuzzled the Mark on Lance's neck. He pressed a delicate kiss there and Lance felt his heart squeeze at the tenderness.

"Mine."

Lance sighed and tilted his head back for easier access, his eye falling shut. Keith purred against the bandages and bare neck. The vibrations sent goosebumps racing over the prince's skin.

"Let me court you," Keith said, his lips brushing the bandages near Lance's ear.

The prince's eye flew open in shock. He turned his head to stare at Keith in disbelief. "What?"

The red paladin lifted his head so he could meet Lance's gaze directly and said in steady if hoarse voice, "Let me court you."

Lance's mouth dropped open. "How…" He trailed off when Keith brushed a few stray strands of brown hair behind his ear.

"Why did you tell me?" Keith asked. When Lance just looked at the red paladin in confusion, Keith sighed. "Why didn't you tell me I was treating you like a whore?"

Lance pressed his lips together and looked away.

"Look at me," Keith begged. " _Lance._ You allowed me to disrespect you like that. Why?"

Lance lifted one shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. "I knew you didn't mean it that way," he said.

"But you did see it that way," Keith said. He bowed his head when Lance said nothing. "Why didn't you tell me? I would have stopped pushing."

Lance sighed. "I know you would have."

"Then _why?"_

"I didn't want it to stop," Lance said finally. "I… I wanted it but…I didn't at the same time. It was… I was confused. I know what the Mark means to you and I didn't want you to-"

He stopped when a finger pressed on his lips. He opened his eye and looked up at Keith who gazed down at Lance sadly.

"Tell me when I disrespect you," Keith said firmly. "You're my mate. That's final as far as I'm concerned. Any Galra would see it that way. There is nothing more beyond Marking a mate. There are no ceremonies or events. It's considered a very private and highly personal thing. We don't advertise our actions regarding our private lives. It's considered disrespectful to our mates."

Keith sat, removing his finger from Lance's lips. "Disrespecting your own mate is beyond rude," he continued. "Never let me do it again."

Lance nodded. "Who told you about courting?" he asked hesitantly.

"Coran," Keith answered promptly. "He was very informative."

"Oh quiznack," Lance moaned, rolling his eye dramatically.

Keith chuckled, pausing in surprise when he realized what he just did. He shook his head in amusement. "I'll do my best to meet your culture's expectation of courting, but I may stumble here and there," he admitted. "Tell me when I do so I can correct myself."

"I will," Lance promised.

"Good."

The door hissed open and both boys looked at it curiously. Allura stood in the doorway with her hands covering her mouth in tearful joy. She looked just as worn down and sleep deprived as Keith.

"Tell me you slept," Lance pleaded.

Allura laughed breathlessly but shook her head.

"Ugh," Lance groaned. "What is wrong with you two? Beauty sleep is a good thing."

Allura choked on a sob and ran to climb onto the left side of bed when Keith settled on Lance's right. She pressed her forehead to Lance's and pressed her thumbs on her brother's scales, both the bandaged one and the unbandaged one. Lance's eye remained open so he saw his sister's tears when she quickly sat up and wiped them away.

"The others?" Lance asked.

Allura flushed and glanced over her shoulder significantly. Lance looked at the ceiling and sighed.

"Coran," he called loudly. The thunk from the hallway betrayed the advisor's eavesdropping. "If you're going to listen in on us, then at least come in here and do it properly."

The door slid open again and Coran stepped inside. Lance carefully pushed himself to a sitting position with his sister's help. He leaned heavily on Keith's shoulder once he was as straight as he could manage. When he looked up at the doorway again, he was stunned to see a flustered Shiro, Hunk, and Pidge standing next to Coran.

"Wait, you were _all out there?"_ he gasped. He looked at Allura suspiciously. "How much did you hear?" he demanded.

The princess tucked a lock of snowy hair behind her ear primly but pursed her lips in mild annoyance. "Not much," she admitted in a grumpy voice. "You spoke too softly."

"You…" Lance blushed bright red. "That was a private conversation!"

Allura shrugged. "I'm your big sister," she said. "It's my job to defend your virtue." Lance choked. He was pretty sure Hunk did too. "Besides," she added with a wry smirk at Keith who leaned away from her disconcertingly, "any future partner of yours has to meet my approval first."

"Oh quiznack," Lance groaned.

"Hey Shiro," Pidge snickered, nudging the black paladin. "I think the princess just gave Keith the shovel talk."

Shiro just sighed heavily.

"You would find this amusing," Hunk said to Pidge. The green paladin flashed Hunk two thumbs up and Rover flashed, beeping enthusiastically. "Dude," Hunk said, pointing at Rover, "you even got the robot involved. You're freaking scary, man."

"I know," Pidge chirped.

Shiro smiled but rolled his eyes skyward as if to ask what deity dropped him into this crazy family.

Speaking of, "Fine," Lance said. "You get to approve of my future partner." Allura smiled triumphantly. "But only if I get to approve your suitor," he added, watching a blush creep into his sister's lovely face. "It's only fair."

"I…I don't know what you're talking about," she said quickly, looking away.

"Ooh, Allura's got a crush," Pidge whistled. "Bet you ten bucks it's Shiro."

Shiro turned bright red but Hunk just gave Pidge a look.

"dude, that's not even a bet," Hunk said. "That's a fact. You don't bet on facts."

"Says who?" Pidge asked.

"Says the person who knows you don't have ten bucks," Hunk said.

Pidge raised his finger and opened his mouth to argue, then shut it and huffed. "That's not the point."

"You don't bet on facts," Hunk said. "You're a scientist."

"Engineer actually, but-"

"Engineer with an interest in science," Hunk said. "Either way, facts are facts. Opinions and possibilities are perfectly acceptable though."

"Okay." Pidge thought for a moment. "Then I bet ten bucks Keith fucks Lance before Shiro and Allura get it on."

Hunk slapped a hand over his face and Shiro made a very indignant squawk that was strangely high pitched.

"Pidge?!" Shiro cried.

Allura followed the whole conversation between the group in badly disguised awe.

"I'll take that bet," Coran said, startling the paladins.

"Coran!" Shiro cried. "You're older than all of us. Set a good example."

"I may be an adult, yes, but I'm not the parent in this situation," the advisor said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Space Dad!" Pidge cheered.

"Space Dad!" Hunk cheered, less enthusiastically but with equal amusement.

"Space Dad!" Lance said, cackling madly.

Shiro sulked. "You're all horrible," he grumbled.

"You love us," Hunk said.

"Well, you love Allura anyway," Pidge said, nudging Shiro and winking over dramatically.

"Fine," Shiro said. "If I'm the D-," he huffed and spit out the word, "Dad, then you're all grounded."

"What?" Hunk gasped.

"You can't do that!" Pidge cried.

"I'm the dad, remember?" Shiro said, shooting the green paladin a look. "All of you go take a shower and get some sleep."

Hunk and Pidge sulked and made their way out of Lance's room. Pidge paused at the doorway long enough to stick his tongue out and shout, "You better sleep in your own bed Shiro. I can't lose this bet!"

Shiro's eyes narrowed and he turned around and chased the madly laughing green paladin down the hallway.

"Um," Coran said in the quiet that fell with the paladins' departure, "what's a 'buck?'"


	32. PART 2 - 32: Heartwarming Moments

**A/N:** Some more cavity-inducing fluff, feels, and humor mixed in this chapter. I'm so tired right now I'm having a hard time seeing straight. I'll edit this tomorrow. Night y'all. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Lance gets cuddles, some family secrets are revealed, and Lance doesn't handle it too well. **  
**

* * *

 **32: Heartwarming Moments  
**

Lance couldn't remember falling asleep last night, but he didn't mind. He had stayed awake to listen to Hunk regale him with his adventure retrieving the crystal from the Balmera. When he heard of the disgraceful state of the Balmera at the hands of the Galra, he felt his heart ache. The Balmera were notorious for their peaceful and patience manner. They caused no harm to any living being, even at the expense of their own lives. For the Galra to harm one of that majestic species without any regard for its life was a terrible thing.

He didn't overlook the fond way Hunk spoke of this Balmeran he called Shay. Was this a blossoming infatuation? How completely adorable. Even if it ultimately led to nothing but a close friendship for both, it was still a relationship to be cherished. That wouldn't stop Lance from teasing Hunk for it at any given opportunity though.

When Hunk eventually retired for the night, Keith had remained behind with Allura. Lance's sister had spent the time filling Lance in on their fight with Sendak. Despite his best efforts, Lance had eventually begun nodding off around the time Allura got to the point they launched the Castleship. The last thing he clearly remembered was Allura mentioning something about starting to track down distress signals to begin their fight against Zarkon in earnest.

When he woke up, Lance was warm and surprisingly comfortable. His fingers were intertwined with someone's, Allura's he guessed from the dainty shape of the fingers, and his head tucked under someone else's chin, probably Keith's. He opened his eye and smiled at the sight of dark hair at the edge of his vision. He titled his head slightly to the left and saw his sister curled to Lance's side sleeping soundly.

"Awake?" Keith whispered, his lower jaw brushing Lance's hair.

Lance hummed and nuzzled Keith's throat. "No," he mumbled.

The red paladin huffed lightly and placed a soft kiss on the prince's head. "Are you sure?" he pressed.

"Sure," Lance said, closing his eye.

Keith chuckled. "You have to get up eventually," he said, a smile audible in his voice.

"'Llura's still asleep," Lance grumbled.

"She hasn't slept until now," Keith said.

"I'm her pillow," Lance countered. "Can't move."

"Now you're just grasping."

Lance moaned. "Five more ticks."

"You're like a child," Keith grumbled in amusement.

Lane hummed. "Why're you complaining?" he asked. "You have me in bed with you."

"That's…"

"Stop blushing and sleep with me," Lance sad, pressing his victorious smile to Keith's throat. "You know you want to."

Keith's attempts to formulate a reply were music to the prince's ears.

"If you two are going to start flirting, I'm leaving," Allura said.

Lance froze and turned his head to stare at his sister. Her face was deceptively relaxed, her eyes were closed and her breathing was still slow and rhythmic. "You're awake?" he cried.

"Well, if I wasn't before, I certainly am now" she said, opening her eyes and glaring at her brother. She heaved a sigh and sat up to stretch. She pulled her hand free of Lance's and began pulling her cloud of white hair up into a somewhat controlled bun. "Come join me on the bridge later," she said standing. "You've had a long enough break from training."

Lance moaned and deliberately turned his back on his sister to bury his face in Keith's chest. "Quiznak you," he said without heat.

"You wish," she sang, strolling out of the room with only a backhanded wave as a farewell.

"She's definitely a leader," Keith said, watching the princess's retreating back.

"She's definitely something alright," Lance muttered. He stretched out so the entire front part of his body pressed against Keith's. He felt the red paladin tense and Lance grinned, nipping the halfbreed's neck teasingly. Keith took a deep breath and let it out slowly through his nose.

"You're testing my limits," Keith said with practiced calm.

"I'm good at that," Lance teased, wrapping his arms around his mate's body and tilting his head back to kiss the soft underside of Keith's jaw. "I don't see you complaining."

Keith made a soft sound of approval and looped his free arm around Lance's back, holding him in place. "I'm not," he said in a tight voice. "It's just…difficult."

"Do you want me to stop?" Lance asked hesitantly.

He felt a strange regret when Keith pulled away from his, but it quickly faded when a gentle pressure brushed against his bandaged face. He fought the urge to flinch when the unexpected touch made his wound sting and pulse with his heartbeat. It ached but it wasn't just a bad pain.

"Never," Keith murmured against the cloth. "But I don't want you to go too far too fast."

"Even if it's what I want?" Lance asked, perhaps a bit more breathlessly than he meant to be.

"Is it?"

He couldn't answer. If he said yes, it wouldn't be entirely true. But he would be lying if he said no as well.

"If this is what you without any hesitations, then tell me now," Keith said.

Lance wanted to speak up; he really did. But he couldn't make his mouth form the words.

"Then I'll wait," the red paladin said leaning away to meet Lance's gaze with his own. "You're my mate. That won't change. But maybe you'll be ready soon. I can wait."

Then Keith pulled away entirely and climbed out of the bed. "Your sister is right about one thing though," he said, ignoring the distinctly disappointed stare Lance was shooting him. "You do need to get up."

Lance groaned and let his head drop back to the pillow. He snatched the blanket covering him and pulled it up so it covered his face. It also covered his blush when Keith laughed at him.

* * *

"What's that alarm?" Hunk asked, stepping onto the bridge curiously.

"It's a distress signal," the princess said from her place on the central platform. Her hands rested on the two control columns by her waist, piloting the Castleship while one of her mice sat on her shoulder. "We're going there now."

"How long will it take do you think?" Hank asked. "Coran and I promised to get back to the Balmera to do the life force exchange thing in a week. We can't break that promise. I can't let Shay and her family down."

"I know Hunk," Allura said, giving the yellow paladin an encouraging smile. "That is our main priority but we can't overlook any distress beacons we receive. The Paladin Code demands help be given to those who need it, no matter the circumstances."

"Okay, then if someone gets stuck in the center of a star where no one can reach them, do we still help them?" Pidge asked poking Rover teasingly.

"Pidge," Shiro said, giving the green paladin a look.

Hunk noticed the black paladin was giving that look to Pidge and himself more often than before this whole thing began. He would have to come with a name for it later.

"How would someone get stuck in the center of a star?" Allura asked in genuine confusion.

"Not to mention survive long enough to send out a distress beacon?" Coran added. "What type of technology would allow someone to survive in that kind of extreme environment?"

"The Doctor did it once," Pidge said with a shrug.

"The who?"

"Precisely." Pidge grinned and Hunk snorted, covering his barely contained laughter behind his hand. Shiro rolled his eyes, but Hunk still saw the smirk there.

"I'm not sure I understand," Allura said. She studied her paladins closely. "What aren't you telling me?"

"It's nothing, princess," Shiro said. "It's just an Earth thing."

"You still haven't answered my question," Pidge said.

Allura sighed and turned back to face the front of the bridge. The stars zipped across the panoramic view screens covering the walls of the bridge like an enormous planetarium. Shiro stood leaning against his pilot seat in front and below Allura's pilot platform with his legs crossed at the ankles. Instead of facing forward, he faced the back of the bridge so he could see Allura, Pidge in his pilot seat to the princess's left, and Hunk who moved to his pilot seat. Hunk's seat was also to Allura's left but it was set farther back than Pidge's.

The blue and red paladins' pilot seats were to Allura's right and conspicuously empty. The blue paladin's seat was aligned with Hunk's and the red paladin's seat was aligned with Pidge's. Only the black paladin's sat in front of Allura. The only position farther forward than the black paladin's seat was Coran's control seat, though normally the advisor just stood while he completed his duties.

Coran simply had much more energy than any person his age should, Shiro thought wryly.

Pidge had given up sitting in his pilot seat properly and had adopted a sprawl that Allura honestly couldn't see as comfortable. But Pidge seemed to enjoy it, kicking his legs back and forth absently where they stuck up.

Normally, the green paladin's head would occupy the space Pidge's legs currently swung. Pidge's stomach pressed against the back of the pilot seat and his head was propped up by his forearms on the seat bottom so he could face forward. How could Pidge's back hold that arch for so long and no even begin to ache? At least Hunk sat properly in his chair when he joined his friends.

"I suppose if we were unable to reach the origin of the distress beacon," Allura said thoughtfully, "we would be forced to find alternative ways to help."

"And if those ways didn't work?" Pidge pressed, scratching his nose in obvious boredom.

"Then I suppose we would be forced to move on to the next distress signal," the princess said finally, turning away from her green paladin. "Not everyone can be saved after all."

Pidge looked up at the princess's uncharacteristically morose tone and winced. "Sorry," he said. "I forgot."

Allura smiled grimly. "It's alright," she said.

Pidge pushed himself up and adjusted his position so his back arched even further. Honestly, how was that comfortable?

"Can I ask you a question?" Pidge said.

Allura laughed. "Technically, you just did," she teased, flashing a warm smile at the youngest of her paladins. "But of course you're welcome to ask another."

Pidge pushed his glasses up his nose and kicked his legs to gain enough momentum to slide his body down the seat back. In his new position, Pidge dangled his legs over one armrest, rested his head on his folded arms on the other armrest, and let his hip rest on the seat bottom. His brown eyes focused on Allura almost shyly.

"Um, what was your family like?" Pidge asked.

Coran stilled his calculations and turned to the princess in concern.

"Pidge," Shiro said gently, "maybe this isn't the best-"

"No, it's alright," Allura said, casting a reassuring glance at the black paladin and her advisor. "It's not something I'm ashamed of." Her smile softened to something that was almost sad. "My siblings were always close, despite our rivalry. Lance and I were the middle children although Lance tended to get along better with the youngest than I did. I always tried to act more mature to fit in with Aldrun and Lauma," said, laughing quietly to herself.

"Were they your older brothers?" Hunk asked quietly.

"Aldrun was," Allura said. "Lauma was my older sister. We were attached at the hip Lauma and I. She taught me everything Lance and I know about fighting. Lance always favored Latif and Alwida, the youngest of all of us. Latif was a mischief maker. No surprise considering the amount of time he spent with Lance. Alwida was a proper young lady. She loved riding on Lance's shoulders."

The princess took a deep, shaky breath and cleared her throat. "My father, Alfor, was the king of Altea. My mother, Lakshmi, was a beautiful woman. She was gentle but had a fierce temper. I took after my father while Lance was his mother's boy in mind and soul."

"Allura," Shiro said, "you don't have to tell us, you know."

Allura smiled at Shiro, her eyes shining wetly in the light of the bridge. "I know," she said. "I don't mind. It… It's actually a relief to talk about them." Her hands tightened minutely their grip on the control columns, an action that did not go unnoticed by the black paladin. "I didn't have a lot of time to mourn them before the Great War began."

"Did the Galra kill them?" Pidge asked. "Is that what started the war?"

"It was the catalyst, yes," Allura said. "But the Great War would have happened whether my family died or not." Her gazed hardened into something cold and remote. "We were betrayed by Zarkon. He was our ally, one of our greatest allies actually. He betrayed us and murdered my family. It was only by a sheer stroke of luck that Lance, my father, and I weren't there when it happened. Or," she dropped her gaze and worried her lip between her teeth, "we were there but, we didn't get a chance to drink the poison."

"I'm sorry," Shiro said.

"Yes. If we'd lost Allura and Lance," Coran said, "it would have demoralized the people of Altea to the point we may not have been able to fight back. Because they survived, our entire race joined the war effort. The people voted to have Allura named the Heir Apparent and-"

"Wait, you voted on who rules next?" Hunk asked, leaning forward in his chair with interest.

"Oh yes," the advisor said. "The royal family of Altea was an elected monarchy. Queen Lakshmi was voted into the office and married Alfor after the fact. Alfor had been Lakshmi's Sentinel before he married her."

"So the king, er, former king, held the same position as Lance does right now?" Pidge asked. "Lance is the Sentinel now, right?"

"Correct," Coran said, nodding. "Lauma was originally supposed to be the next Sentinel after Allura was voted the Heir Apparent. But Lance took her place when the Druids declared his quintessence was better suited to the position."

"Quint-what?" Pidge asked, repeating the unfamiliar word. "You mean that stuff that makes us the paladins of our Lions?"

"Yes, precisely," Coran said. "Quintessence is a life energy that every living thing has. It can be extracted and stored in inanimate objects just as crystals to use as a form of energy."

"You mean like the crystal we got from the Balmera?" Hunk asked, sitting up straighter.

"Yes, exactly like that." Coran smiled. "The Balmera's crystals are special in that they are physical manifestations of the Balmera's own quintessence. When I asked the Balmera for the crystal, our quintessences touched allowing us to communicate directly without any lies or language barriers. That's why the exchange of life energy is so important. I'm literally giving the Balmera some of own quintessence to heal the wound and replenish the quintessence I took when I removed the crystal."

"Woah man," Hunk said in awe. "That's deep."

"Talk about some serious shit there," Pidge said.

"What about all of you?" Allura asked. "What are your families like?"

Hunk grinned. "My mom is the best cook on the planet."

"Debatable," Pidge said.

"Yo, she's my mom," the yellow paladin said. "I'm allowed to think my mom is the best cook in the world."

"My dad was always the cook in the family," Shiro said with a chuckle. "Both of my parents worked. My mom worked for JAXA as a pilot and astronaut and my dad worked for NASA as an astronomer attached to the Cronus 3 Mission."

"Oh," Hunk said, sinking into his seat. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Shiro said. "I've had a few years to get over it."

Pidge wilted, sitting correctly in his chair and pulling Rover into his lap.

"I don't understand," Allura said. "Why are you sorry?"

"The Cronus 3 Mission was the first attempt to send a manned crew to Saturn's moon Titan," Hunk said. "It was supposed to be a trial to set up a temporary colony on the moon's surface to see if it would survive for period of time without any repercussions."

"It was hit by solar radiation from a solar storm," Pidge said. "They didn't have a chance. No one on board survive." He hugged Rover close. "That's how Shiro met my family, actually."

"Pidge," Shiro said. "You okay with this?"

Pidge sat up straight and met the black paladin's eyes directly. "Yeah," he said. "I'm ready."

"Why do I feel like I missed something?" Hunk said suspiciously.

"Shiro practically moved in with my family after the Cronus 3 Mission," Pidge said. "He flew my dad and brother on the Kerberos mission. That's when the Galra captured them. That's actually where I got the name 'Katie' to call you when we were dealing with Sendak, princess."

Allura noticed the way Hunk's mouth shut and he nodded as if something finally made sense. Unfortunately, she was still confused. The blue mouse on her shoulder squeaked and Allura pet her furry friend absently.

"I don't understand," she said.

Pidge took a deep breath. "I guess I'm taking the long way here but," he licked his lips nervously, "what I'm trying to say is, my name isn't Pidge Gunderson. It's Katie Holt. I'm a girl."

"Oh," Allura said, mildly surprised. "I've known that for some time now."

"What?" Pidge cried.

"Honestly," Hunk said, scratching his neck awkwardly. "I did too."

"Wha-! Hunk?" Pidge whirled on the yellow paladin dumbstruck. "How the fuck did you know I was girl?"

Hunk turned bright crimson. "Um, dude, we shared a dorm room together," he said. "You really think I never found your stash of tampons?"

Pidge's blushed gave Hunk's a run for its money. "You found my tampons?! What the hell were you doing in my stuff?"

Hunk shrugged casually. "I was looking for some chips."

"You-" Pidge slapped a hand over her face and slumped back in her chair.

"I figured you were transgender," Hunk said. "I mean, it didn't really bother me either way. You told me you were a guy so I didn't argue."

Pidge laughed. "You're ridiculous, Hunk," she said. "Space Dad, Hunk went through my things."

Shiro snorted. "I'm sure you went through his too at some point," he said. "I was in college too, remember."

Pidge sulked.

"I'm not sure I understand," Coran said, coming over to stand next to Shiro. "You said you were a guy?"

Pidge looked up at the royal advisor in confusion. "Yeah. I was trying to figure out what really happened to Shiro and my family." He crossed his arms over his chest and Rover rose to hover at Pidge's shoulder. "The Galaxy Garrison said the ship crashed due to pilot error killing everyone on board. That wasn't true. I knew it I just couldn't prove it. But more importantly, I wanted to know what really happened. In order to do that, I had to join the Garrison."

He snickered. "I fooled 'em all," he said, grinning darkly. "Those fat idiots banned me from stepping foot on Garrison property after I hacked their files and found out the Kerberos mission didn't crash. So I cut my hair and joined the Garrison as Pidge Gunderson, a boy."

Coran whistled. "Well, I'm not sure how they thought you were a boy but I suppose if it worked out, then that's a good thing."

Pidge looked at the advisor in surprise. "You knew I was a girl too?"

"Oh yes," he said readily. "You forget, I helped raise six children on Altea. I've seen a lot in my lifetime."

Pidge snickered. "Yeah I bet you have," he said.

"So," Shiro said, waiting for the green paladin to look at him. "What would you prefer we call you?"

"Yeah, and what pronouns?" Hunk added. "I'll tell you now I you say the female ones, it'll probably take me a bit to get out of the habit of using the male pronouns."

"Oh." Pidge thought for a moment, then shrugged. "I mean, I'm a girl and I think of myself as a girl, but I don't really care what you guys see me as. You can use whatever pronouns you want."

"Whew," Hunk said. "Dodged a bullet on that one."

"What about your name?" Shiro asked. "Do you want us to call you Pidge or Katie?"

Pidge hunched her shoulders and looked around at the faces watching her intently. None of them were angry or disappointed. They were all friendly and supportive. He swallowed nervously and said, "Could… Could you keep calling me Pidge?" she asked. "I prefer that name."

Shiro smiled. "Of course we can," he said. "I'm glad you decided to tell us Pidge."

"Tell us what?" Lance said, walking onto the bridge with Keith by his side. "What did we miss?"

"You certainly took your time, baby brother," Allura teased.

Keith smirked and Lance flushed faintly, deliberately ignoring his sister's taunt. "Wasn't talking to you Allura," he said. "I was talking to Pidge."

"Oh." Pidge turned around in her pilot seat so she kneeled facing the Lance and Keith. She leaned on the back of the seat and smirked. "Good morning Lance," she chirped. "I'm a girl."

"Good morni-whaAT? YOU'RE A GIRL?!" the prince cried, reeling back in shock. "Wha- Bu- HOW?"

Keith snorted. "I figured that out as soon as we met," he said, crossing his arms over his chest proudly.

"Oh yeah?" Pidge said suspiciously. "How'd you do that?"

"You sounded like a female over the comms," Keith said with a casual shrug. "Then when I smelled you, I knew you were a girl."

"You _smelled_ me?" Pidge gasped. "Ew, gross. Pervert."

Keith rolled his eyes. "It's not just you. I can smell all of you," he said. "You just smelled…" He rolled his shoulders, popping them. "I don't know, stronger."

"Oh crap," Hunk grumbled.

"What?" Pidge asked.

"Pidge, what day is it?" Hunk asked.

Pidge lifted an eyebrow. "I don't know," she said. "October 19th, I think. Right?"

"I don't know, that's why I'm asking you," Hunk said frantically.

"Okay, okay, geez. Let me think." Pidge rested his chin on the back of his chair as he thought. "Yeah, it should be October 19th. We left Earth on October 11th. I remember because we had a test in physics on October 12th. You were pissed at me for keeping you up so late. If we've been in space for," he paused to count the days on his fingers, "about nine days, then yeah. It should be October 19th. Halloween's in twelve days! WHOO!"

"Pidge," Hunk said, "I think you're missing the point."

Pidge hesitated and looked at the yellow paladin blankly. "What?"

Hunk blushed and covered his face with his hands. "Please don't make me say this out loud."

"I really don't know what you're trying to say," Pidge said. "Hunk? Hunk?"

Hunk groaned. "Gah! When's your next period start?"

Pidge grimaced. "That's none of your busi- SHIT! Oh shit shit shit!"

"There we go," Hunk moaned.

"What? Pidge what's going on?" Shiro said, hurrying to his friend's side.

"I'm so confused," Keith said.

"I don't have any tampons!" Pidge shouted.

Shiro flushed. "Uh, well, I'm sure Allura can help you with that," he said, holding up his hands. "Right princess?"

Allura tilted her head to the side. "Maybe. What do you need?"

"Something to help with my period," Pidge said. She hopped up from her chair and grabbed Allura's hands. "Please tell me you have something to help stop the bleeding."

"Stop the bl- Oh!" The princess jolted and her smile brightened. "Of course I can help you. I can show you some great ways to keep that under control."

"Oh my god _thank you!"_ Pidge said in relief, hugging Allura tightly.

Allura laughed. "It's no problem," she said gaily. "We girls should stick together after all. We can't let the boys have all the fun, right Lance? Lance? Lance are you alright?"

Everyone turned to the prince who was staring at Pidge with a blank expression. "Keith, how long was I out?" Lance asked in a small, befuddled voice.

Keith gazed worriedly at his mate. "I already told you. Two cycles."

"You're sure?" Lance asked.

"Yes," Keith said. "Why?"

Lance slid his hands over his partially bandaged face, pushing his fingers into his hair. "Pidge is a girl?" he said again. "Wha- Are you a shapeshifter too?"

"No," Pidge said, wrinkling her nose. "I was never a boy to begin with."

"So you're a girl."

"Yep, I'm a girl."

Lance took a deep breath and after a moment of staring said, "I'm going back to bed."

"What?" Allura asked in concern. "Why? Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine," Lance said with a weary wave. "I'm just not sure if I'm still dreaming. I'm going to go try to wake up for real now. See you later. Maybe."

"Is he okay?" Pidge asked.

"I'm sure he's fine," Coran said. "He's probably just suffering from the blow to his pride for not noticing you were a girl before now."

"Oh," Pidge said, perking up. "Well that's okay, then. How close are we to the distress beacon?"

"Not far now," Allura said. "We should be close enough to open a channel actually. Coran, could you get on that please?"

"Of course princess," the advisor said.

"I can't believe Pidge is a fraking _girl!"_ Lance's voice filtered into the bridge from the hallway.

Pidge wasn't the only one who was struggling not to laugh.


	33. PART 2 - 33: Imploding Patience

**A/N:** Honestly, this was just a heck of a lot of fun to write, especially the last part. Poor Shiro. I tormented him so much, bless his heart. **FYI** , the story will start to branch from canon a bit from here on out. Slowly at first and ultimately not much until after I get to where Season 1 left off, but yeah. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Shiro has a crazy day deal with kids, princesses, and traders but learns there are some advantages to being 'Space Dad.' **  
**

* * *

 **33: Imploding Patience  
**

Shiro kept pace with the princess as she walked out of the Castle's main doors onto the surface of the small planetoid. Three aliens were sitting by a small fire staring up at the no doubt impressive sight of the Castle of Lions. Compared to their little vessel, the Castle was enormous and gleamed in the reddish light shining through the atmosphere.

"Nice ship," the purple skinned alien said, standing and offering the paladins a broad smile. He wore a leather aviator hat over his white hair and a worn but sturdy navy jacket that did nothing to cover his chest. Scales on his arms shimmered dully in the reddish light as he gave a gesture of greeting. "Sure would love to see that thing fly."

Allura smiled. "We would be glad to escort your ship out of the atmosphere, if you wish. But after that, I'm afraid you'll be on your own," she said.

"No problem," the alien said, waving away her offer with a friendly smile. "I'm Rolo. This is Nyma," he pointed to the mustard yellow female alien who stood from her spot by the fire, "and Beezer, our cyber-unit," he pointed to the small robot sitting on a box nearby.

"Woah! You're so cool!" Pidge cried, racing past Shiro to stare at the aliens' cyber-unit.

Rover flashed and chased after Pidge beeping indignantly. Pidge chattered away, oblivious to her robotic friend's jealousy.

"Is that a Galra hoverbot?" the female alien, Nyma, gasped.

"Yep," Hunk said, stepping up to the group and smiling tolerantly at his friend's hilarious display of technophilia. "Pidge here rewired it so it works for us now. Actually," he corrected, "it works for Pidge, not so much for us." He shrugged.

"That's some pretty useful skills you've got there, friend," Rolo said. "Wouldn't mind getting my hands on a Galra hoverbot myself."

Pidge stiffened and grabbed Rover from midair, squishing the small droid to her chest. "Well you can't have Rover," she said, glaring at Rolo. "He's mine. Find your own."

Rolo quickly held up his hands to stave off Pidge's anger. "Don't worry, don't worry," he said. "I'm not going to take it. Just thought it was cool, is all. You got some skills kid."

"I'm not a kid," Pidge said, bristling.

"Alright, calm down Pidge," Shiro said, restraining the green paladin with a stern hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure Rolo didn't mean it as an insult."

"No, not at all," Rolo said chuckled. "No offense meant. I take you guys are the ones who answered our distress beacon."

"We are," Allura said. "What seems to be the problem with your ship?"

"Oh yeah." Rolo adjust his hat and stared up at his beat up looking ship in exhaustion. "I can't get the thing to start. We lost power, but I'm not sure why. We haven't been here long so we decided to turn on our beacon and call it a night. But since you're here, you mind helping us?"

"Of course," the princess said. "That's why we came."

"Anyone fighting against the Galra is a friend of ours," Shiro said, offering the aliens a friendly if tired smile.

Rolo's smile widened. "So you _are_ against the Galra," he said. "That's a relief. I guess I don't have to hide anything then, huh?"

"Hide anything?" Shiro asked curiously.

"Oh yeah," Rolo said. "We're traders. We've got quite a few things to sell on the Black Market."

"Why am I not surprised there's a Space Black Market?"Hunk said, sighing heavily.

"What would you sell on the Black Market that you couldn't just sell normally?" Pidge asked, letting Rover go free so it could hover close to her shoulder.

"Lots of things actually," Nyma said. "Certain medicines that are hard to come by, weapons, plants, rare items, you name it."

"Rare items," Pidge said snickering.

"I doubt any of those items denote a side quest, buddy," Hunk said, patting his friend's shoulder. "Sorry Pidge."

"Well," Rolo said, scratching his head thoughtfully. "I mean, if you guys don't mind helping out with my ship, Nyma can take of you to check out our cargo. Feel free to look, just don't touch. You know the drill."

"Sure thing," Shiro said. "Hunk? Pidge? You two want to help Rolo with the ship?"

"Will Beezer get to help too?" Pidge asked.

Rolo laughed "Sure," he said. "He's the technical genius here."

Nyma cleared her throat and Rolo corrected himself. "Well, he's the technical genius who isn't fed up trying to get this bucket back in the air."

"That's better," the yellow alien purred, pleased.

"Then sure," Pidge said happily.

"If it'll help speed things up, then yeah," Hunk said.

"You in a hurry to get somewhere?" Rolo asked.

"Kind of, yeah," Hunk said, following the purple alien to the small ship's hull.

Shiro saw several panels had been removed and wires hung out. If the mess of tools was anything to go by, Rolo and his gang had been working on the problem for a while before Allura and her paladins had arrived.

"Well, since Rolo okay-ed it," Nyma said, crossing her arms over her teal cut-off shirt, "then I guess I'll show you around. Just remember the no-touch rule."

"Actually," Allura said hesitantly, "I was wondering if you had something specific."

"Oh?" Nyma's eyes narrowed, sensing a potential trade. "Like what?"

Shiro watched his princess bit her lip nervously and glance back at the Castle before answering. "Someone I care about lost his…um, the Galra stole his eye," she said, stumbling over her words.

Nyma's gaze softened minutely, but she had detected a trade opportunity and wasn't about to let it pass. "So you need a cybernetic eye," she said. "Do you have a particular model in mind?"

"So you do have one?" Allura asked, hope sparkling in her beautiful eyes.

"Maybe," Nyma said, waving a hand. "What are you willing to trade for it?"

The princess straightened and nodded to Nyma in acknowledgement of her shrewd move. "I can offer our assistance with your ship and give you food and supplies if you need it," she offered.

Nyma tilted her head thoughtfully. "Cybernetics tend to be rather expensive," she said, turned to watch her companion work on the ship with Hunk and Pidge. "Especially if they do more than just convert light to the visible spectrum. I'm assuming you see visible light and not infrared, ultraviolet, or gamma ray, correct?"

"Correct," Allura said, nodding.

"For argument's sake, would you prefer a simple cybernetic eye or a more complex model?" Nyma asked.

Allura shrugged. "I'd prefer a more complex model," she said, "but I understand if that's too hard for you to get your hands on."

Shiro fought a wince at the implied insult. But when he glanced at Nyma, he knew he'd missed something. Instead of offended, the female alien looked like she was doing her best to control her excitement. Strange.

"I'm sure," Nyma practically purred. "I may have a few, but they're hardly worthy of your attention. I wouldn't do you the disservice of showing you. They won't get me much at market anyway."

What?

"Well, throwing something away would be a waste," Allura said calmly, examining her fingernails. "But if you don't mind throwing away perfectly good equipment then I suppose that's your choice."

What?

"If you want, you can look through the trash," Nyma said, flicking one of her two, long yellow extensions hanging from either side of her head. Were those ears or…?

"I wouldn't want to be a bother," Allura said. "Don't go out of your way for me."

"Nonsense," Nyma said, turning and gesturing for the princess and Shiro to follow her. "They're trash, after all. I don't judge what people like. If you're willing to pay for trash, then who am I to turn you down. But then," she shrugged in what Shiro suspected was contrived sadness, "I doubt it would fit your friend's eye."

"True, true," Allura admitted, sounding just as sad.

Shiro suspected there was something going on here, but he wasn't sure what. Allura was trying to conduct a trade, right? But why would she _and_ Nyma insult the very thing they were trying to buy, sell, both? Women were so confusing.

"Well, if I don't like it," the princess said, "I'll suppose I can help you throw it away."

"Really?" Nyma asked. "You'd do that?"

"Of course," Allura said with a smile. "No room for useless things on board my ship."

"Agreed," Nyma said, winking at the princess.

She unlatched her ship's door and waited for it to open fly before stepping inside. Yellow-ish lights activated when she stepped inside revealing rows upon rows of miscellaneous items. When he stepped inside, Shiro looked at the stash in blatant curiosity. Some things recognized from his time with the Galra, others he was pretty sure came from Earth, but the rest were unidentifiable. Large boxes were stacked up along the back wall of the forward compartment they stood in.

To the right of the doorway was the ship's modest bridge. It was Spartan in design but perfect for functionality. In fact, it looked a lot like the simulator cockpits from his time in the Galaxy Garrison.

Nyma made her way back to the boxes, shifting a few to the side before picking up one in particular. "Here you go," she said, holding out the dented, red metal box. "Like I said, most of them are trashy so don't worry. I won't be offended if you don't like any of them."

Allura nodded and waited for Nyma to pop the latch and flip open the box's lid. When the alien turned the box in her hands so its contents were visible, Shiro sucked in a breath. There were three cybernetic eyeballs in the case and none of them were trashy by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, at least one of them was a top-of-the-line model that Shiro would bet money the Galra would pay handsomely for. They were all different sizes, but the one on the right seemed about right size-wise.

Allura made a show of leaning over and examining the merchandise. Her fingers rubbed her chin as she considered each eyeball individually. After a minute or so, she hummed in disappointment and stood straight.

"You're right," she said. "These are all worthless."

Shiro blinked and stared at the princess in shocked confusion.

"I know, right?" Nyma complained. "I mean, even this one is really just useful for scrap metal," she said, pointing to the eyeball Shiro knew was worth the most out of all of the devices here.

What in the heck is going on here? Shiro thought wildly.

Allura rolled her shoulders and pursed her lips. "I don't know," she said hesitantly. "I think this one is worse off." She pointed to the eyeball on the right. "I bet it doesn't even work."

"I doesn't," Nyma said. "Besides, it's in serious need of an upgrade or three. I don't even know why Rolo picked up the thing in the first place."

"Men have no taste," Allura moaned.

Both she and Nyma sighed in unison. Shiro was beginning to feel very uncomfortable right now. This was more than a little awkward.

"Well," Nyma said, preparing to close the box. "Like I said, nothing but trash."

"Actually," Allura said quickly, making Nyma pause in her actions. "If you're going to throw it away anyway, would you mind if I took the one on the right off your hands?"

Nyma smiled. "Really?" she asked in disbelief. "This old thing?" She picked up the eyeball Allura pointed out and rolled it around in her palm, setting the box aside for now. "It's totally useless."

"I'm sure," the princess said, keeping her hands clasped in front of her. "I bet it wouldn't have visible light converters at all."

Nyma shook her head regretfully. "Or infrared," she said. "I doesn't even have the capability to zoom very far. The range on this thing is pathetic."

"It has a horrible color too," Allura said, lifting her hands from their carefully controlled clasp. She started to reach out to it, stopping herself just short of the eyeball's surface.

"Oh yeah." Nyma turned the eyeball so Shiro and the princess could see the mechanized iris. "I can't get it to change to anything light colored," Nyma grumbled. "Just dark colors. So boring."

"I bet," Allura said, crossing her arms when her hands twitched. "It's probably too old for my technicians to look at it either."

Shiro was so lost. It was obvious the princess wanted to touch the cybernetic eye, but she didn't let herself. It's like this whole thing was a game of who could come up with the best insults for something they both wanted to sell and buy the fastest. It was making the black paladin's head spin. Also, Shiro was very sure Pidge would be itching to get her hands on this thing, especially if it was for Lance.

"It wouldn't feel right," Allura said finally. "Taking something so degraded like this and giving you something worthwhile would hardly be a fair trade."

Nyma shrugged. "Well, I don't expect much. A few new tools would be nice, but I'd settle for hot trillen right now. I need something for my throat."

"Well, I don't know about that, but I have some contraceptives I think," the princess said.

Shiro blushed heavily. This was not a conversation he felt safe observing anymore.

"Oh?" Nyma asked. "Not that cheap stuff like Min, right? I swear that stuff just makes the guys go nuts, but it does nothing for me. I've heard a lot of bad stuff about it recently too."

"Oh no," Allura said, dismissing the suggestion with a careless wave of her hand. "Nothing like that. I have the common stuff. What's it called now?"

Shiro watched uncomfortably as the princess pretended to think hard about something. He flicked his dark gray eyes to Nyma and was slightly disturbed to see the woman practically quaking with barely hidden excitement.

"That's it!" Allura exclaimed with a dramatic snap of her fingers. "Kadesh."

"You have _Kadesh?!"_ Nyma cried. She immediately slapped a hand over her mouth, but the damage had been done. Allura was grinning victoriously and Shiro wasn't sure what just happened.

Nyma slumped in defeat, but instead of looking upset, she looked incredibly pleased. She laughed. "You're good," she said, winking flirtatiously at the princess. "I haven't bargained that hard with a skilled opponent in a long time. Most of those idiots at the black market don't care for the art of trading. They just want their junk as quick as they can get it and leave. In and out."

Allura laughed heartily. "Well, I'm glad I made your day a bit better. I admit, you almost had me there with the eyeball."

"I know," Nyma said, throwing her head back and groaning. "I was so frustrated when you didn't give in. Frustrated and glad. I wanted this to last a bit longer. But seriously though," she said, leaning close to Allura, "you have Kadesh?"

The princess winked. "I most certainly do."

"Oooh!" Nyma moaned, hopping in excitement. "Please give me some. You have no idea how hard it is to get your hands on that stuff."

"Definitely. Shiro," she said, turning to the black paladin with a smile, "could you call my brother and ask him to bring me some Kadesh from my bathing room, please?"

"Uh…" Shiro glanced between both women with no idea what to say. "S-sure," he said finally, stumbling back out of the ship as fast as he could go. Not fast enough to miss the girls' laughter though. He took a deep breath to banish the red he could feel on his face and activated the communicator to the Castle. "Lance," he said, "this is Shiro. Are you there?"

 _"Hm? Shiro? Why are you calling?"_ the prince asked curiously. _"Is Allura alright? Did anything happen?"_

"No, no, everything's fine, um. Listen," Shiro said. "Do you think you could do me and your sister a favor?"

 _"Depends on what it is,"_ Lance said suspiciously.

Shiro could feel the heat returning to his cheeks and sighed. "Allura wants you to bring her something called, um, K-Kadesh from her bathing room."

For a moment, the comm line was silent.

 _"Are you going to have sex with my sister!?"_ Lance shouted loud enough to make the microphone ring.

"No!" Shiro said, his face burning hot. "No! I'm not! Look, Allura just made a deal with the people here and her side of the trade is some Kadesh."

 _"Oh,"_ Lance said, calming down immediately. _"Well in that case, sure. I'll be right down."_

 _"With me,"_ Keith's voice said, ignoring the sound of Lance grunting. _"I'm not letting you out of my sight."_

 _"I'm just going outside, Keith,"_ Lance said. _"I'll be fine."_

 _"Yeah, that worked so well last time one of us went outside and left the other alone,"_ the red paladin said in a wry voice.

"I agree with Keith," Shiro said. "You're still not fully recovered Lance. You need to take it easy for a while."

Lance grumbled. _"Fine,"_ he groaned. _"We'll be out there in a tick."_

Shiro pinched the bridge of his nose and steadied himself before going back into the ship. When he did, he was surprised to see the two girls discussing the usefulness of Druid-enhanced weapons.

"They're overpowered, if you ask me," Nyma said. "They're powerful alright, I'm not denying that, but it just seems like the Galra are trying to put one a show for us. It makes me wonder what they're trying to distract us from. I mean if they really are as powerful as we all believe they are, then why all the power shows? I feel like I'm watching a bunch of boys with more pride then sense trying to decide who has the bigger, more impressive reproductive apparatus."

"Reproductive apparatus," Allura repeated, bending over and laughing herself silly. Even Nyma joined. "That is so accurate."

"I bet they're all alphas too, if you know what I mean," Nyma said in a not-so-quiet whisper.

Allura snorted and cackled. "Don't give them that much credit," she said, between wheezing and laughing.

Nyma coughed and said in a deep, over dramatic voice, "Behold the power of the mighty Galra Empire."

Alright, even Shiro was snickering now.

"All will bow to my mighty reproductive tentacles," Nyma said in her 'Galra' voice.

Shiro choked. Nope. Not laughing anymore.

The princess had just barely managed to regain control of herself when Nyma said that last bit. "Tentacles," she gasped and promptly collapsed against the side of the ship in another bout of laughter. She held her stomach and bent over. "I can't breathe."

"Mine are furrier than his," Nyma said, planting her fists on her hips and puffing her chest out. "Come and see."

"St-stop," Allura gasped. "Please. I can't breathe. Frelling quiznack, girl. You and I have got to get together and compare notes."

"Oh, frak, girl, yeah. Definitely," Nyma said. "I'll give you my contact codes if you give me yours."

"You got a deal," Allura said, finally standing upright. She still leaned over somewhat. Her stomach was probably cramping from laughing too hard.

"What do you think pretty boy?" Nyma called to Shiro.

The black stiffened, wanting badly to melt into the floor.

"You think your reproductive apparatus is more impressive than Zarkon's?"

Allura lost it again, falling to her bottom and laughing so hard tears fell from her eyes.

Shiro's face was burning red. "I-I don't really, um," he stuttered awkwardly.

"Oh come on," Nyma teased. "You gotta have an opinion."

"I honestly, um," he coughed. "I don't really want to think about that."

"Aw, you're no fun," the yellow alien said.

"Galra!" someone shouted outside.

Instantly, the humor of the situation vanished. Shiro ran out of the small ship activating his right arm just as Nyma and Allura came out behind him.

"Ohh," Nyma whistled. "Speaking of Druid-enhanced reproductive apparatus."

Shiro flushed.

"Don't you mean reproductive tentacles?" Allura chimed in with an audible smirk.

Shiro was dying.

Nyma snorted. "My mistake. Hey handsome," she called and Shiro just knew she was talking to him. "Nice Druid-enhance reproductive tentacles!"

"What did I just hear?" Hunk said, staring at Shiro and the girls in shock. "Pidge. Pidge, tell me I didn't hear what I thought I heard."

"Nope," Pidge said, shaking her head. "Can't do it. I heard it too."

"Oh my god," the yellow paladin. "My ears are bleeding."

"Um, is no one going to do anything about the Galra over there?" Rolo said, pointing to a flustered Keith who was deep in a passionate debate with the Altean prince.

"Oh," Pidge said, actually looking at the so-called 'Galra' now. "That's just Keith. Ignore him."

"Keith _ek_ ," the red paladin groaned, without breaking from his debate. Lance was plugging his pointed ears with his fingers and singing nonsense to drown out Keith's voice. "Lance get back here. Quiznack your smeg, get back and here and say that to my face!"

"Ooh, Keith," Lance trilled, shooting a sultry glance in the red paladin's direction. "I didn't know you were interested."

"Why should we ignore him?" Rolo asked, still holding his wrench-like tool as a makeshift weapon.

Someone just kill Shiro now. Please.

"You can't go through what you did and expect everything to be the same," Keith said, ignoring Lance's blatant flirting. "It doesn't work that way."

"So says you," Lance said, plugging his ears and turning back to Shiro and the group. When his eye focused on Allura he burst into a smile. "Hey 'Llura. I got the Kadesh."

"Frak, boy, give that to me right now," Nyma said, holding out her hand insistently.

Lance hesitated but at his sister's reassurance, he shrugged and handed the small bottle over. The alien popped the cork and sniffed the bottle's contents, sighing dreamily at the scent.

"Allura," Nyma said, "I don't care if that's your real name or not, you just sealed yourself a deal." She extended her hand and shook Allura firmly.

"Aren't you a pretty lady," Lance said with a smile.

"Why are you ignoring me?" Keith exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "And why the frell are you flirting with her? You don't even _know_ her?"

"Because it's fun, she's pretty, and it drives you nuts," Lance said.

Shiro deactivated his weaponized arm and rubbing his eyelids in growing frustration. This was ridiculous.

"But," Rolo said hesitantly. "I thought you said you were fighting against the Galra."

"We are," Shiro said. He waved weakly in Keith general direction without opening his eyes. "He's a halfbreed."

"A half- Woah, seriously?" Rolo gasped, staring at the red paladin with open interest. "What's your other half?"

Keith glared at the trader in annoyance. "None of your business," he grumbled.

"So you don't know," Rolo said, nodding sagely. "Want to know?"

"It's not important," Keith said in a voice that indicated the topic was closed.

Rolo held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, whatever you say," he said. "But hit me up if you ever want to find out."

"I'll shoot myself in the foot first," Keith said curtly.

"Ow, you wound me," Rolo said, placing a hand over his chest dramatically.

"You guys are hilarious," Pidge said, leaning on Rover and smirking. "Hey Shiro," she called getting the black paladin's attention. "How's you Druid-enhanced reproduct-"

"Don't finish that statement Pidge or I will ground you," Shiro said calmly.

Pidge scoffed. "You can't ground me," she said, although her eyes were unsure.

"I can make your pet project disappear from the Green Lion's hanger," Shiro said.

Pidge froze. "You wouldn't."

"You sure about that?"

Even Rolo backed away from the black paladin's expression. "Dude," he said.

"Shiro?" Hunk said, leaning away from his friend. "Please don't include me in that look. I'm innocent."

"Ooh, Space Dad's mad," Lance crowed.

Shiro took a deep breath. "If the training gladiators suddenly jump to Level 5 at random points during training," he said, "just remember you brought this on yourselves."

"You wouldn't," Pidge said, looking terrified.

"I am so glad I'm wounded right now," Lance sad in a small voice.

"Speak for yourself, idiot," Keith said, looking shaken despite himself.

"But I'm innocent!" Hunk cried.

"That's actually a good idea," Allura said, startling everyone. "I'll tell Coran to set that up right away."

"Shiro," Hunk said in a small voice. "Why?"

Shiro smiled and Hunk was afraid. "Because I'm Space Dad and I can do what I want to kids who misbehave," he said.

Scratch the killing part, Shiro thought. This wasn't that bad of a day after all.


	34. PART 2 - 34: Clear Evening, Murky Truths

**A/N:** So it begins.

 **Chapter summary:** In which Hunk suspects, Keith learns something he didn't expect, and a hard decision is made. **  
**

* * *

 **34: Clear Evening, Murky Truths**

Hunk sulked by the fire. He and Pidge had decided to take a break from scouring the traders' ship for the cause of their problems. Nothing had come up so far so they decided a break for food was in order. Thankfully, Rolo had offered to cook why Nyma and Pidge discussed the ins and outs of building cyber-units. Pidge's techno crush on Beezer was a source of endless amusement for Hunk even if Rover wasn't too happy about it.

However, something about this whole thing felt odd. He couldn't put his finger on it; he could just tell something wasn't quite right. It was frustrating him to no end because he couldn't find anything wrong. But that was just it. He couldn't find _anything_ wrong. At all. Not with the people, not with the ship, nothing. As far as he knew, the ship should be in perfect working order. But both Rolo and Nyma insisted it wouldn't start.

When asked if they could show him, Nym had rolled her eyes and gone inside. Hunk followed and watch her attempt to start the engine over and over. The screens and lights would turn on for a few seconds then turn off. It was like turning on a flashlight with a dying battery. Thing is, this ship didn't have a battery.

He looked up when Allura joined Pidge and Nyma's little group and immediately tuned out their conversation. The last thing he wanted was to overhear more subjects that would make his ears bleed. He still hadn't recovered from earlier that day. At least Shiro had relaxed a little bit.

The black paladin was standing nearby talking to Keith about something. Whatever it was, Keith seemed interested. He wasn't focused on Shiro entirely, but he was obviously listening to what Shiro had to say. Every now and then one of his ears would twitch and Hunk had to fight back a bout of giggles.

He sighed and took a sip of his warmed up nunvil just as Lance came over and sat next to him. He hummed and quickly swallowed. "Oh hey," he said, smiling at the prince. "You doin' okay?"

Lance nodded and immediately winced, pressing a hand to the bandaged side of his head. He grimaced. "Just a bit of a headache," he said. "I'm not exactly surprised, really. It's just annoying. I hate feeling useless," he mumbled under his breath.

"You're not useless," Hunk said firmly. "Hey, Lance." He waited for the prince to look at him directly. "You're _not_ useless. You did a lot."

"I got captured," Lance grumbled. "Again."

"And kept the Galra busy so they couldn't find Pidge," Hunk said. "And the first time you tricked them into believing Allura was dead. You protected her and the Lions and us. That's not useless."

Lance stared at Hunk slack-jawed. Then he smiled and crocodile tears spilled over his cheeks. "Aw, Hunk, you care," he said romantically.

Hunk gave Lance a flat stare. "You're not taking what I'm saying seriously, are you?"

The Altean sat back and twiddled his thumbs absentmindedly. "No, I am," he said softly. "I'm just not sure how I feel about it, is all."

"What do you mean?" the yellow paladin asked.

Lance hesitated, glancing up at Allura and Pidge then over his shoulder at Keith and Shiro before turning back to the campfire. He heaved a sigh. "I just want to go home," he said.

Oh. Hunk slouched in depression. "Sorry," he said. "I didn't think about that."

Lance snorted. "I know you're homesick too, Hunk," he teased. "Don't deny it."

"Oh, I don't, believe me," Hunk said, taking another sip of is drink. "But at least I have a home to go back to. You don't," he said sadly. "I wish I could help."

"Altea could still exist," the prince said. "We could find Altea again. Maybe we could even find a few Alteans still alive somewhere. We traveled the galaxies of the universe, or this portion of it at least, for centuries before the Great War. Debatably millennia although I'm not sure I believe that."

"What do you mean this 'portion' of the universe?" Hunk asked curiously, hoping to distract his friend from his dark thoughts.

Lance smiled thoughtfully. "Well, technically, the universe of infinite. Or it's basically infinite, and expanding. So there's no way we could possibly explore the whole, entire universe. That's not even remotely possible." He chuckled. "But we managed to explore and map out our local galactic super cluster."

"So, let me get this straight," the yellow paladin said, turning in his seat to face Lance as he spoke. "When we say Zarkon rules the universe, what we actually mean is that he rules this entire galactic super cluster."

Lance nodded. "Correct." The prince adjusted his legs so he sat cross-legged facing Hunk. "We probably have the technology to explore further, but the void separating our super cluster from the others is so great that, should something happen during the trip, we'd be completely alone without any help. No one was willing to take that risk."

Hunk nodded, sipping his drink. "Yeah. Yeah, I can see why. Dying alone doesn't sound like fun."

"It's not," Lance said grimly.

"Why do I get the feeling you mean that?" Hunk said. "I mean, you say that like you died alone."

Lance smiled, but it wasn't a smile Hunk liked. "I've had time to think about it, is all," he said, glancing at his sister.

Hunk wasn't sure what to make of the conversation so he let it drop. Instead, he watched the flames with Lance. He sat up to finish his nunvill when he noticed Allura subtly palm something to Pidge. It was small and round maybe, but Pidge stuffed it into his pocket before Hunk could get a better look at it.

"Well," Pidge said, standing and stretching. "I'm calling it a night."

Hunk lowered his brows suspiciously.

"See you tomorrow, Pidge," Lance said.

"You guys joining Coran and me?" she asked, tucking her hands in her pockets. Suspicious.

"Yeah," Hunk said. "In a minute."

"Maybe later," Shiro said, glancing at the princess. Everyone knew he wouldn't budge until she did. And Keith wouldn't budge until Lance did.

"Sleep well Pidge," Allura said. Was it just Hunk or did she say that a bit too happily? Suspicious!

"Night."

Hunk watched the green paladin walk back to the Castle. Suspicious! He glanced around subtly to be sure everyone had lapsed back into their conversations. When he was sure he could slip away easily, he stood.

"I'm callin' it too, guys," he said. "Night."

"You too Hunk?" Shiro called curiously.

"Yeah," he said. Be subtle Hunk. Be subtle. "I gotta go to the bathroom anyway so yeah."

"Too much information," Shiro grumbled.

Hunk laughed. "You asked," he said. Score one for Hunk. "See you."

"You want me to save you anything?" Rolo called.

"Naw, man," Hunk said. "Thanks though. I'll help you with your ship tomorrow. You okay with that?"

"Sure," Rolo said, waving at the yellow paladin. "I doubt we'd be able to fix this thing before tomorrow any. Better to do it with light."

Good point," Keith said.

"On that note, see ya," Hunk said, waving. His smile grew when Lance smiled and waved back.

Now, he thought, turning back to the Castle, off to solve this mystery.

* * *

"You sure you don't mind?" Keithek asked.

Shiro shook his head with a friendly smile. "Not at all," Shiro said. "Birthdays are important where I come from too. Let me know if I can help in any way."

The halfbreed nodded. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Shiro said, clapping Keithek on the shoulder with his metal hand.

Keithek didn't flinch when the cool metal touched his shoulder like he used to. He still did on occasion, but nowhere near as much as he used to. He'd begun to separate the Champion from Shiro. It took some conscious thought, but it was working. It was worth it too. Shiro really was like the father figure Keithek had always wanted but could have because of his status.

He hadn't seen his birth father in cycles. Every time they managed to communicate, they'd had to keep it short and to the point. They never had much time. Keithek knew his father loved him, but it was for the best that they stayed away from each other. If his father was ever discovered, Keithek would have a chance to escape before the Galra came down on his head.

That had been the plan anyway. That quickly burned in a flash, Keithek thought wryly with a glance at Lance. When the Altean prince burst into his life with all the grace of drunken Galra, Keithek had been thrown for a loop. He didn't regret mating Lance, but he sometimes wondered if it had been the best decision.

Pushing his dismal thoughts back, Keithek smiled briefly at the black paladin and approached Rolo by the fire. "Hey. Do you have a tick?"

"Hm?" Rolo looked up from the stick he held over the fire. "Yeah?"

"I was wondering if I could talk to you," Keithek said.

"Sure," Rolo said. He grinned. "Decided to find out what your other half is?"

Keithek groaned. "I told you, that's none of your business," he said. "I'm interested in a trade."

Nyma sat upright. "Mine!" she said.

"Nice try, Nyma," Rolo said chuckling. "You got the last trade. This one's mine."

The yellow alien sulked. "Ugh, fine."

Rolo stood and handed his stick to the princess. "This was about ready anyway," he said. "Just keep it in the flames for another couple tecks until it's crusty. It's not the best, but it's good. Thanks for the drink."

"Any time," Allura said, taking the offering and holding it over the fire.

Rolo straightened and rolled up his sleeves. "Alright kid," he said, ignoring the way Keithek bristled at the term. "This way."

Keithek bit back his angry retort and trailed behind the trader into the ship's interior. Rolo stepped aside so Keithek could get a better look at the merchandise. "Take a look around," Rolo said. "Just don't touch anything."

The red paladin nodded and strode passed the alien, looking at the items and plants on the shelves. He didn't really know what he the plant he was looking for looked like exactly, but he was determined to try his best. There were several plants in the ship, most had flowers of some kind on them. A couple were enclosed in glass cases but the rest were out in the open close to heat lamps.

"Anything in particular you're interested in?" Rolo asked after a couple tecks of silence.

Keithek leaned back from the shelves flushing. "I'm not sure what it looks like," he said eventually. "I know what it's called, or what it _was_ called. But I'm not sure if it exists still."

"Huh, a rare plant," Rolo said, pushing away from the door frame to join the halfbreed by the shelves. "Well, I've got a two rare plants right now. What's the name of the one you're looking for? If I have it, we can start talking price. If not, maybe I could point you to someone who could help. Deal?"

Keithek considered the offer for a moment before nodding. "Deal," he agreed, taking Rolo's proffered wrist. "I'm looking for the juniberry plant."

The twig Rolo began chewing on fell from his mouth in shock. He laughed awkwardly. "Look man," he said, an edge to his voice, "I don't deal drugs. I may not be the most reputable person in the universe, but I won't stoop _that_ low."

"Drugs?" Keithek asked in confusion. "The juniberry is a plant."

"Yes," Rolo said, looking at the halfbreed like he was stupid. "A hallucinogenic plant."

Keithek lifted an eyebrow. "Lance didn't tell me that," he muttered.

"Lance?" the trader said, standing straighter. "You mean the one-eyed guy? He'd an addict?"

The red paladin' shook his head. "No," he said firmly. "He said his people used to eat it or drink the juice all the time. Allura mentions it too every now and then. They both think it's gone, but I was hoping…"

"You were hoping it wasn't," Rolo said, nodding sympathetically. He shook his head. "Well, I don't know any race that openly condones the use of juniberries but-"

"They're Altean," Keithek said.

"Okay to the Alte- Wait, _what?_ They're Altean?" Rolo gasped. "You mean like Altean Tales Altean? That Altean? How pure's their blood?"

Keith blinked, looking at the trader strangely. "They're purebloods," he said. "It's a long story. They said it had something to do with their culture and traditions and whatnot."

"Oh yeah it did," Rolo said, whistling. "I mean," he said quickly, "I don't deal the plant but I know about it. Can't not with this sort of job, really." He leaned back against the shelves and crossed his arms. "The Alteans were supposedly immune to the harmful effects of the junnibery plants. The thing's deadly to other species in high doses, but it was harmless to the Alteans."

He plucked a twig off the trillon plant on the nearby shelf and began chewing it. "Basically, and this is all hearsay by the way," he added, "the plant was like an aphrodisiac or something like that for the Alteans. They'd have this huge festival and drink it and fornicate all night. That may not be _exactly_ how it worked, but that's what I've gathered."

Keithek blushed darkly and looked away. "Oh," he said in a small voice. "So what's it do now?"

"I don't know what it does really 'cause I've never used it," Rolo said. "And I never will if I have my way. I know what it does to the body and it's not pretty. You basically hallucinate and wander around in this dreamlike state for several hours, or longer depending on the dose. It's highly addictive and almost always ends up killing the users." He pulled the twig from his mouth and stared at it grimly. "It's not pretty."

"I didn't know," Keithek said quietly.

Rolo shrugged and bit the twig again, twirling it around between his lips. "So this Lance and Allura," he said. "They're Altean." Keithek nodded. "Huh." He shook his head. "Look," he said finally. "I can tell you who to contact to get your hands on the juniberry plant, but you have to do me a favor." He waited until he had the halfbreed's full attention. "You can _not_ tell anyone I was the one who sent you. I try to stay out of the drug trade. Nothing good comes from that."

Keithek nodded. "I'm aware," he said. "I was a pilot under Commander Sendak."

Rolo stiffened. "That bastard?" he groaned. "Frak I hate that guy. He fraks everything up just because he can."

"He's dead."

This time Rolo lept away from the shelves and his mouth dropped wide open. "When the frell did that happen?" he cried.

"About two cycles ago," Keithek said proudly. "I killed him."

"okay, now I know you're pullin' by tail," Rolo said. "Nice one kid."

Keithek snarled. "I am not a kid," he snapped. "And I _did_ kill him. He deserved it."

"Whatever you say," the trader said. "Look, give me a tock to go through my contacts and I'll give you the name of the person dealing juniberries."

"I don't want juniberries," Keithek said. "I want the plant."

Rolo snorted. "Yeah, good luck with that."

Keithek's ears twitched but he wisely bit back his temper. "Fine," he said.

Without another word, he stalked out of the ship to rejoin Shiro and Lance.

"Beezer," Rolo called from the ship. The little cyber-unity perked up from its power saver mode and buzzed, turning its camera eye to the trader. "Come give me a hand with this."

The cyper-unit made its way over to the trader while Keithek watched. Rolo met Nyma's curious gaze and Keithek watched them communicate silently for a moment. Although he wasn't sure what they were silently discussing, Keithek was sure it had to do with his request.

"What happened?" Shiro asked softly.

Keithek hesitated. "I think I asked for something that was a bit more serious than I thought."

The black paladin nodded in understanding. "I know the feeling."

* * *

Rolo examined the latest postings available from his contact and sat back. If they went through with this, then there was very little chance of this tenuous friendship to grow. They were all fighting against the Galra, or so the aliens claimed. He couldn't figure out if they were telling the truth or not as long as the halfbreed was with them.

He wasn't stupid. He knew not all of the Galra agreed with Zarkon, but the whole thing just sounded too good to be true. Then that Altean Tale the halfbreed had told him about those two pointy-eared bipedal being Altean of all things… He shook his head and sank into his pilot's chair. It was all just too fantastical for him jaded mind to believe.

He stretched out his legs and crossed his ankles and crossed his arms over his chest staring at his little cyber-unit. He knew Nyma had taken a liking to that Allura person and honestly Rolo wasn't averse to the group either. He almost felt guilty for deceiving them.

But he knew they couldn't keep this up for much longer. That dark bipedal in yellow definitely suspected something was up. Judging by the green one's genius, Rolo was sure it was only a matter of time before their ruse was found out. He needed to make a decision quick.

His contact within the Galra forces was temporarily reachable but he didn't dare make contact first unless he had no other choice. It had taken years for the resistance to successfully get a spy so high up within the Galra's ranks. Rolo would be damned if he destroyed all those years' worth of hard work just because he was a little nervous.

Then there was the tallest bipedal who was always in Allura's shadow. Rolo wasn't blind. He recognized that Druid-enhanced arm of his anywhere. The guy was the infamous Champion. Rolo had attended a gladiator battle or two because they drew a huge audience of potential customers. He'd also seen the Champion mow down Galra after prisoner after gladiator after challenger like they were nothing, especially since the Druids got a hold of him.

He'd suspected something had happened to the Champion when the warrior was conspicuously absent at the last gladiator battle. A quiet investigation on his part had revealed some juicy news. Apparently the Champion had escaped the Galra Sendak's battlecruiser during transport and hadn't been heard from since.

Rolo turned his chair to stare out the bridge windows. If he turned in the Champion, the reward would be huge and he was sure his contact within the Galra could help the Champion escape again. But was it worth it?

He needed the money. He and Nyma were dead broke after the Galra decimated their stash two turns ago. He needed a way to get currency quickly or face starvation. That wasn't a foreign thought for him, but it would be for Nyma. She ran away with him to escape the Galra and though he didn't love her romantically, he did see her as the sister he never had. They watched each other's backs.

He dropped his head into his hands and pulled off his hat, scratching his hair. Whatever he decided, he'd have to do it before the Champion left for the night. He stared at the bracelet on his wrist debating his options.

Finally, he stood and licked his lips. It shook himself before walking back outside. He was surprised to see the halfbreed whispering something to Lance. The way the halfbreed had been treating Lance all night had been a bit odd. Most people wouldn't be comfortable near a Galra and yet this Lance seemed entirely unaffected. After a moment, Lance stood and stepped closer to the halfbreed. He waved goodnight to Allura and Shiro before turning back to the large, white starship.

"Hey, S-Shiro, right?" he called to the Champion.

The Champion turned to him with cautiously trusting eyes. "That's right," he said.

"Think you could give me a hand with something? I'm cleaning up in here before turning in for the night," Rolo said, trying to keep his nervous heartbeat under control. "It shouldn't take too long."

"Sure," the Champion said. He started to walk over to the ship when he paused, looking back at Allura almost as if he was seeking her permission. Lance and the halfbreed had also stopped walking to wait for a response.

"Don't worry about me," Allura said smiling. "I'll go back with Lance and Keith. Unless you want me to wait?"

"Actually," Rolo said, "you can come too if you want. We'll just be moving a few boxes out of the way so we can lay out our sleep mats."

"I'll help," Lance said.

"No," Keithek said, gripping Lance's shoulder firmly. "You're going to sleep. Now."

Lance sulked. "I'm fine."

"You were nodding off," the halfbreed countered calmly. "Don't bother denying it."

"Don't worry Lance," Allura said. "I'll be fine. See you tonight."

Lance pursed his lips but nodded. "Alright," he said. "See you tonight sister."

"Rest well, brother," Allura said.

Rolo bit his lip when the Champion and Allura made their way onto his ship. He hadn't counted on the girl coming, but when did plans ever go exactly as planned? He waited for Nyma to step inside the ship too before pointing to the boxes in the back.

"We have to move those," he said.

"No problem," the Champion said, already moving towards the boxes with Allura.

Rolo glanced at Nyma. Her eyes held reservations but when she pressed her lips together, Rolo knew she would follow his lead on this.

In the end, he had to close his eyes before pressing the button on his bracelet activating the homing beacon.


	35. PART 2 - 35: Fog of Distraction

**A/N:** Sorry I didn't update last night. I could feel myself falling asleep and began to suspect I would stay awake long enough to update. I wear contacts and when I'm particularly tired, my sight blurs and my contacts begin to slip around. Basically, after realizing I'd mistyped every word in a sentence to the point I no longer knew what it was I was even trying to writing in the first place, I called it a night. I made it to a little over 1,000 words though. But still...

So here's the update. Sorry it's late. -_-; Considering it's after midnight now, I'm crashing for the night. I'll edit this tomorrow morning. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Pidge and Hunk play with eyeballs and Lance is cold. **  
**

* * *

 **35: Fog of Distraction  
**

"Okay, what are you up to?" Hunk said, striding boldly into the Green Lion's hanger.

Pidge jumped a good foot in the air and quickly hid whatever he'd been hiding behind his back. She," Hunk corrected mentally. _She._ _She_ flushed and shifted from foot to foot guiltily. Hunk crossed his arms and just waited. It didn't take long before Pidge finally caved.

"Ugh," she groaned. "I was probably going to ask you too anyways." She pushed her glasses up her nose and glared at the yellow paladin. "You can't tell Lance anything, Hunk. You have to promise."

"What?" Hunk gasped, laughing in disbelief. "Why? I saw Allura slip whatever you're holding to you by the fire."

"You _saw_ that?" Pidge cried. She leaned forward, her eyes darting to the shadows in the hall behind her friend suspiciously. "Did Lance see? Please tell me he didn't see it."

Hunk sighed. "I doubt Lance saw anything," he said. "He…hasn't been himself today."

Pidge slouched. "Yeah. I know." She sighed through her nose and pulled the object out from behind her back. She fiddled with it for a second before holding it out for Hunk to see.

"Is that an _eyeball?"_ Hunk gasped, recoiling from the round thing in the green paladin's hand.

Pidge rolled her eyes. "It's a _cybernetic_ eyeball," she corrected. "Allura traded some of her contraceptives for it."

"Allura has contraceptives?" Hunk asked. He quickly held up a hand. "You know what? I don't want to know. So she traded her…stuff for a cybernetic eye. I'm assuming it's for Lance."

"It is," Pidge said, sitting back down on the hanger floor leaning against one of the Green Lion's giant paws. "She's letting me tinker with it before she gives it to him though. It's going to be a surprise so _no_ telling him, Hunk."

Why groaned and sat in front of his friend. "Why are you telling me like that?" he said. "I know how to keep a secret. I kept yours didn't I?"

Pidge pursed her lips and stuck her tongue out at Hunk. The yellow paladin just snickered and Pidge eventually smiled. "Yeah, you did," she admitted. "Thanks for that by the way. If the Garrison had found out who I was, they would've kicked me out and probably brought federal charges against me. It wouldn't have been pretty."

"Look, Pidge, someone else's gender or sexuality has nothing to do with me," Hunk said with a smile. "I may be comfortable in my birth gender and like only girls-"

"Or rocks," Pidge teased with a sly grin.

"Rocks that I _admire_ ," Hunk emphasized, ignoring his friend's snickering, "but I'm fine with that. You do you. I won't judge. Unless you start sexing up a robot," he said, holding up a hand. "I draw the line there. You cross that line, I'll officially think you're weird. I won't hate you, but I'll think you're weird and avoid you if I see you anywhere near technology."

Pidge cackled. "Well then maybe I shouldn't tell you about my escapades in the air vents with Rover," she said with a suggestive wink.

"Oh god," Hunk groaned.

"Or should I say _sexcapades?_ "

"Oh my god, no," Hunk groaned louder, burying his face in his hands. "Pidge no. Please, my ears are still recovering from that who," he waved his hand around, "thing with Allura and Nyma earlier today. I do not need more of this."

Pidge closed her mouth but continued to struggle with fits of giggles as she poked and prodded the eyeball.

"So," Hunk said when he finally deemed himself as recovered as he could be, "what are you planning on doing with that thing?"

Pidge shook his head absently. "No really sure yet," she said. "I know it can switch between visible and infrared light based on what Nyma said. But there's room in here for me to add some of my own stuff if I wanted to."

"Which you do," Hunk said.

"Which I do," Pidge said with a grin. "But I'm not sure what I could add that would be useful. I don't want to add too much because then it could potentially be overwhelming. Then again," she said, gesturing with her small tweezers, "I don't want to have too little in here or I'd feel like I was letting him down."

"Lance?" Hunk asked incredulously. Pidge nodded and Hunk shook his head. "You wouldn't be letting him down," Hunk said gently. "He knows you care. Besides, I bet he's not expecting anything to replace his eye. So this could be a surprise he never knew he wanted."

Pidge shrugged. "Allura wants to give it to him for his birthday."

"Oh yeah that'll work," Hunk said. "When's that?"

"Three cycles give or take," Pidge said, holding the eyeball up to the light to get a better look at it.

"Three _cycles?"_ Hunk gasped. "As in three _days?_ There's no way."

"Well, it is," Pidge said. "At least," he added softly, "that's when it would have been if he and Allura hadn't been put in those cryopods. I think they don't know when their birthdays are anymore."

Hunk looked down. Every time he was reminded of the Alteans' circumstances, he felt small and insignificant. He knew it was a ridiculous thing to feel, but he couldn't help it. Allura and Lance had literally given up practically everything in order to be here and that hadn't been their choice to begin with. Lance was homesick and Hunk would bet his last midnight snack that Allura was too.

Coran was a beast all his own. Hunk knew the advisor was homesick. He could tell by the way Coran would fall into a daze, his eyes watching something far away and long ago, beyond his reach. It was painful to watch. It made Hunk wary of Coran's cheerful attitude. He knew the Altean was suffering, but he didn't know how to help because Coran very rarely showed his depression.

What everyone needed was a good, long group therapy session with lots of food, cuddles, tears, and kittens and puppies. Too bad there weren't any space cats or space dogs in, well, space. Hunk always felt better after watching lots of cat and puppy videos on the Internet. Oh yeah, he remembered, there was no Internet here either.

"Do you ever miss WiFi?" he asked.

Pidge paused and looked up at Hunk like he was crazy. "What?"

"Do you ever miss WiFi?" Hunk asked again, leaning back on his hands. "I mean, I miss watching videos and checking my email and PMing my friends and Facetiming my mom and," he sniffed, trailing off. "Pidge," he said and he wasn't ashamed if his voice quaked a bit, "do you want to go home?"

Pidge dropped her hands to her lap and stared at them. She leaned back against her Lion's paw and sighed. "Yeah," she mumbled. "I miss my mom too. I didn't really think things through when I joined the Garrison as a guy. I mean," she said, letting her head thunk gently against her Lion's metal skin, "she knows I joined the Garrison, but not as a guy. She probably doesn't even know I'm gone."

"Mine sure doesn't," Hunk said. "I was suppose to call her the night after our big test in physics."

"Yeah?"

Hunk nodded, staring up at the ceiling and the Green Lion's huge head. "I always call her after a big test. It helps with my anxiety. I can get pretty worked up over stuff like that and listening to her voice just helps me calm down from my anxiety high."

Pidge smiled. "I know what you mean," she said. "Well, sort of. I always did well on tests. Group projects were the bane of my existence."

Hunk snorted. "Aren't they everybody's?" he countered sarcastically.

Pidge huffed. "Yeah, I bet they are. But you were a good group buddy," she said.

"Well thank you very much," Hunk said.

They sat in companionable silence for a while before Hunk pushed himself up to sit upright. "Okay. What do you need me to do?" he asked.

Pidge blinked. "You want to help?" she asked in surprise. "Aren't you tired?"

"Aren't you?" Hunk countered.

Pidge smirked and shrugged. "I'm a night owl. I happen to know you're a morning glory," she said, pointing her screwdriver at the yellow paladin. "You always woke up before your alarm."

"Yeah and you always woke up after snoozing your alarm three times," Hunk said in mock annoyance.

"Hey!" Pidge said, offended. "That was one time. I'd stayed up late the night before."

"You're staying up late now too, you know," Hunk said.

Pidge rolled her eyes but she didn't bother to hide the smile on her face. "Whatever." She handed the cybernetic eyeball to Hunk. "Give it a look and tell me what you think would work with it. I'm struggling with _what_ I want to fit in there and what I can _actually_ fit in there."

Hunk took the eyeball, _cybernetic_ eyeball. He'd have to keep repeating the 'cybernetic' part in his head in order to keep his unease at bay. He turned the eyeball in his hand so he could see the mechanized iris. He swallowed thickly when he saw the deep shade of blue that stared back at him. It wasn't the same as Lance's but it was close enough to make him sick to his stomach.

He may not have seen that Galra freak rip out Lance's eye in person, but he'd watched the video Pidge had Rover record make to catch himself and Coran up on what they'd missed. He'd seen Sendak hold out Lance's eyeball, he'd watched Sendak crush it to goo. He'd watched Keith murder Sendak in a screaming fit of rage.

He'd been away. While Lance, Allura, Shiro, and Pidge had been suffering and fighting, Hunk had been with Coran on Balmera. It had been tense, but nothing like here. Hunk had even had a chance to make a friend he would see again soon. Even Coran had had fun. But here in the Castle, Hunk's team had been suffering.

It wasn't just Lance. Allura had worked herself twice as hard, barely taking a break to eat until Lance had woken up. Keith had just sat by Lance's pod and then his bedside in absolute silence and waited. Shiro walked the halls, following Allura wherever she went, with the haunted look in his eyes Hunk saw when he first met the man. Even Pidge with all her spunky attitude and teasing manner was jumpier now. Coran had doubled his efforts to get all of the Castle's systems back online at full power. Hunk hadn't seen the man outside the bridge or the crystal chamber since they took flight.

This was all an unhealthy mess. It had brought them all closer together and yet driven a wedge between them as well. They all had secrets, many of which were out in the open now. But they all knew Shiro wouldn't or couldn't talk about his time under the Galra's control. The Alteans, who they really were, their culture, almost everything about them was a secret. Those secrets were not all intentionally kept, but they were secrets nevertheless.

"You know," Hunk said, handing the eyeball back to Pidge, "Lance's bayard becomes a gun, right?"

"Yeah," Pidge said. She blinked. "Oh, I wonder if I can make a program for targeting that'll fit in there."

"I bet you could," Hunk said. "It looks like the part of the cornea that's in front of the iris and pupil is a screen. I wonder if this thing can be used like a camera once it's wired into the brain?"

"You can work on the camera part," Pidge said, "and I'll start working on the targeting system. I've designed a few of those before for practicing at the Garrison."

Hunk laughed. "I was wondering how you got to be so good on the fly in the simulator." He scratched head and winced when he felt the greasy state of his hair. "Ew, gross. I need a shower."

Pidge snorted. "Gee, thanks for announcing."

"You're one to talk, you know," Hunk said wryly.

He stood and stretched. "I'm going to go shower and hit the sack. If you see Shiro or Allura, tell them goodnight for me."

"Sure thing," Pidge said, waving. "Only if you tell Coran I'd be interested in his opinion on this thing." She held up the cybernetic eyeball and snickered when Hunk winced. "Remember to tell him to keep this a secret. Lance doesn't know."

"Secret eyeball," Hunk said, walking out of the Green Lion's hanger. "Got it. Night Pidge."

* * *

Lance stepped out of the silent bathing room with a towel still draped over his damp brown hair. His skin was flushed from where he'd scrubbed it. His fingers and toes tingled slightly from the cold shower.

He wrung out as much of the moisture from his hair as he could before draping the wet towel over his shoulders. He never used to like cold showers; not until he'd bonded with the Blue Lion that is. Ever since, he'd developed a fondness for the cold. He still liked the water pouring through his hair and down his back, but every day he'd been decreasing the temperature of his water.

The Blue Lion was the embodiment of the quintessence of water from Altea, this included the glaciers in the mountains and the ice caps near the northern and southern poles. The quintessence of the Blue Lion was seeping into Lance's body, particularly when he trained or fought. It lapped against his mind like waves on a beach, infiltrated his dreams like melting frost, and left him cold and shivering when he woke up.

Lance hissed when he rubbed the towel a little too hard over his bandaged face. His empty eye socket still stung; his whole face did really. He could tell his right eye scale was damaged as well. The bandage material was like needles scraping over the sensitive surface. It tingled and itched.

Sighing, Lance made his way over to where he knew his bed was. A soft rustling reminded him that Keith was still here. Normally the prince would tease the halfbreed mercilessly for staying by his side day and night, but it was beginning to wear on him. He cared for the red paladin, he'd never lied about that. But he did value his privacy sometimes.

"I'm going to see Blue," he said without pausing to consider the ramification of his words. Anyway, Keith did that for him.

"You need to sleep," Keith said, standing from his spot on Lance's bed.

"I know," Lance said, reaching for his clothes.

He didn't particularly like the idea of wearing the same set of clothes again for the fifth or sixth cycle in a row, but this set of clothes was all he had left other than his flight suit. Coran had thought to save Lance's and Allura's flight suits locked away, but everything else had suffered the test of time. It was only by some miracle that the sheets and blankets hadn't rotted away. Lance still hadn't figured out how they'd been saved.

"I'm going to sleep in my Lion," Lance said, stepping into his pants and buttoning them.

He was in the process of walking to his door when a hand gripped his shoulder, his _right_ shoulder. He flinched and stared at the hand before relaxing. Keith immediately withdrew his hand and stepped back as if he'd been burned.

"Sorry," Keith said quickly. "I-"

"No," Lance said, cutting the red paladin off before he could start apologizing. _"I'm_ sorry. You just… I didn't see you so I-"

"You reacted," Keith said, nodding. "I'll try not to touch you on that side unless I know you see me coming."

Lance sighed. "That's not…" He closed his eye ran a hand through his wet hair, tossing the towel aside. "That's not what I meant," he said. "I'm sorry. I'm just overstimulated is all. And cold." He wrapped his arms around himself in a self-hug. "And avoiding things, people, person."

"Me?"

"What? No, not you," Lance said, shaking his head and scratched his bandages, immediately regretting to action. "My father and…him."

"You're father?" Keith repeated. "I thought he was dead."

"He is."

"You're not making any sense," the red paladin sighed in frustration.

"No, probably not," Lance said, a teasing grin on his face. "I guess you'll just have to be a confused little fluffy eared paladin for a while longer."

"My ears are not _fluffy!"_ Keith cried, his face flushed and his ears twitching in embarrassment.

"Take a shower, Keith," he said over his shoulder. "You stink."

"I do not," Keith grumbled.

Lance just laughed and strolled out the door into the hallway leaving his mate behind. He had to consciously avoid the holodeck. He hadn't seen or spoken to his father since the incident with Sendak. He wasn't sure if he was ready for that. Blue. He needed to be with Blue right now. He needed her presence in his mind.

When he looked up, he saw Blue in all her glory sitting calmly in her hanger bay. Something rustled in the back of his mind accompanied by a cold that seeped into his veins. Lance shuddered still unused to being cold all the time. Nevertheless, he couldn't leave now that he was here. He couldn't leave her.

Blue activated on her own, lowering her head and opening her mouth, offering him entrance to her cockpit. He didn't hesitate to walk in and climb the short ladder into the cockpit. Honestly, he probably couldn't have hesitated even if he'd tried. She was calling to him. He would never be able to refuse her.

When Lance stepped into Blue's cockpit, the screens remained dark but a few basic instruments turned on, glowing a soft aqua. He sat in the pilot's chair and pulled his legs up so he could curl into the comforting seat cushions. He shivered as the cold began to seep into his bones. Strangely, this cold didn't feel intrusive or uncomfortable. It was a soothing cold that enveloped him like a blanket. Was there such a thing as a soothing cold?

The Blue Lion purred in his mind with enough power behind it to vibrate his entire body. She was here. She would always be here. She filled a hole in his heart, his very being that he never realized was there.

He wondered absently if any of the other paladins were aware of how deep their bond with their Lions was. Did they feel the element the quintessence embodied by their Lion was drawn from within their veins like Lance did? Did they feel it sweeping them away? Maybe it was time for Allura to teach these paladins how to deepen and embrace their bond with their Lions and with each other.

That was the last clear thought he had before nodding off to the lullaby of Blue's purring and cool mental presence.


	36. PART 2 - 36: Cold Sinks, Heat Rises

**A/N:** With this, I'm calling it a night. I'll edit it seriously tomorrow as usual. Enjoy y'all and goodnight. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Rolo makes a deal, Coran notices something amiss, the Lions give chase, and the Blue Lion just wants to play. **  
**

* * *

 **36: Cold Sinks, Heat Rises  
**

"You're having second guesses," Nyma said, glancing at her best friend with hard eyes.

She watched Rolo hunch over the ship's controls. "They weren't bad," he said slowly. "They were nice. I mean, _real_ nice."

"Yeah," Nyma said reluctantly. "They were." She looked over his shoulder to where their two captives sat. "You're sure it's him? The Champion?"

"Definitely," Rolo said, nodding seriously. "He's hard to miss. Besides, I confirmed it from Beezer's records."

The cyber-unit buzzed a confirmation and Nyma sighed, gripping her controls. "Then let's get this over with," she said.

Rolo nodded and opened a secured channel allowing the main view screen to sputter to life. He lifted his eyes to the Galra in the view screen.

"I thought I told you not to contact me unless it was important," the Galra said, glancing to either side nervously.

"We have a prize I think your boss would be interested in," Rolo said.

The Galra furrowed his brows. "What is it?" he asked hesitantly.

"We have the Champion," Nyma said. "And one of his friends."

The Galra stiffened, his yellow eyes wide in shock. He looked over his shoulder and called, "Commander. I think you need to hear this."

"What is it?" a gruff voice demanded before another Galra stepped into the view screen. This Galra was slightly larger than the first, furrier, and had decorations on his uniform that the previous Galra did not. "This had better be good," he grumbled.

"We have the Champion," Rolo said, swallowing the bile in his throat. "I understand there's a prize for whoever retrieves him alive."

The Galra commander grinned. "There is," he said. "I assume you want it."

"We want something else too," Rolo said. "See, we have a bit of a checkered past. Some of the Empire's property may or may not have wound up in our possession at one time or another."

"I see," the commander said. "And you want this to disappear."

"Yes," Rolo said.

The commander nodded. "Consider it done."

"We want the reward too," Nyma added.

The Galra smirked. "Of course. I'm relaying coordinates now," he said, gesturing for the first Galra to type something into the computers. "Meet us there and we'll make the exchange."

"Sounds good," Rolo said. He glanced at the first Galra before quickly looking away and closing the connection.

"That was risky," Nyma said.

Rolo nodded. "I know," he agreed. "Let's hope this little venture was worth it."

* * *

Coran was in the middle of tweaking the deep space scanners when he received an alert in the form of a benign beeping. Since it wasn't urgent, he didn't turn his attention to it right away. When he finally did, the Altean letters flashing by the signal were confusing. As far as he knew, the green and yellow paladins had not finished working on that ship yet. It should not be able to take off and yet there it was, leaving the planetoid's atmosphere.

Maybe the traders managed to fix the ship on their own. But leaving without a single goodbye or thank you? Young people these days, he thought shaking his head. No manners at all.

Ah well. Nothing he could do about it now. He opened the Castle's layout and studied the life signs inside. Pidge and Hunk showed up as green and yellow colored signals from the Green Lion's hanger. Coran chuckled, nothing surprising there. He was certain those two would stay up all night tinkering with their latest experiment if given the chance. He would make a point to pop down there and nudge them off to bed.

The young prince's signal flashed blue from the Blue Lion's hanger, specifically the Blue Lion's cockpit. What was Lance doing in there? Why wasn't he in bed resting? He wasn't fully recovered yet. The healing pod managed to heal the most severe injuries and stop the bleeding, but the psychological damage would remain. Some things couldn't be fully fixed by a healing pod; they required good, old fashioned time to heal.

Coran pulled up the Blue Lion's activation records and noticed the great beast had woken from her standby mode a little less than a half tock ago. She registered her paladin in her cockpit. Intrigued, Coran studied the prince's life sign a little closer, tapping the flashing blue light and read the Altean lettering that flash across the screen.

Ah, yes, that explained it. Lance must have fallen asleep in the Blue Lion's cockpit. Coran had never been a paladin nor did he want to be, but he had known the previous two generations of paladins. They all spoke of the intense bond between Lion and paladin; the sharing of quintessence, the psychic meld, the entangled emotions.

Chuckling to himself, the advisor left the sleeping prince's life sign alone and continued to scan the Castle for the other inhabitants' life signs. He found the halfbreed's red signal flashing in the bathing room, _Lance's_ bathing room. Coran clicked his tongue. Honestly, that boy was incurably smitten. Keith hadn't had the chance to begin courting the prince as far as the advisor was aware, but he seemed to get along fairly well with Lance. Coran wished the boy luck. Lance may flirt, but Coran highly doubted the prince would be ready for anything deeper than that for a while.

Then again, Coran thought, glancing back at the prince's signal, he had been wrong before.

Sighing, Coran began scanning for the princess's and the black paladin's life signs. He checked the entire Castle. Then he checked again. Confused, the advisor expanded his search to include the area immediately outside the Castle on the planetoid's surface. Nothing. But that didn't make sense.

The advisor quickly checked the logs to see if any pod had left the Castle unauthorized. He didn't bother checking the Black Lion. The Lion could hardly go missing without somebody noticing. It wasn't exactly what the average person would call subtle. Not in the least. Still, he came up empty. Every pod was accounted for, including the escape pods and healing pods.

He sat back in his chair on the bridge and stared at the view screens. It didn't make sense. There was no way for Shiro or Allura to leave the Castle or the planetoid without being noticed. So then how…?

Movement on the screen to the far right caught his attention and he glanced over at it out of habit. It seemed the traders' ship was beginning to leave the planetoid's orbit now. Coran shook his head and turned back to the main screens, only to look back at the traders' ship signal once more. What if…?

Just out of curiosity, Coran adjusted the scanners to focus on the traders' ship. It was a long shot, but it was the only option he could think of that he hadn't checked. If Shiro and Allura were there, what would he do? What _could_ he do? He was just the advisor. He wasn't a warrior by any means.

Both Shiro's and Allura's signals flashed to life on the view screen originating from the traders' ship.

"It may be nothing," Coran said to himself. "I could be overreacting. They could be checking to be sure the ship is working properly before coming back to land. Nothing serious."

But why hadn't they called in what they planned to do to alert Coran?

The advisor bit his lip and opened a channel to the small trading vessel.

"Hello," he said. "This is Chief Advisor Coran. Please reply trading vessel."

Static followed by a sharp pop and silence. Those dirty rancors! They'd kidnapped the black paladin and the princess!

"Paladins!" Coran shouted into the Castle's speakers. "Allura and Shiro have been kidnapped. I repeat, Allura and Shiro have been kidnapped!"

 _"What the fuck?"_ Pidge voice answered. _"We literally just got a break. Are you freaking kidding me?"_

 _"Shiro!"_ Hunk cried.

 _"Frelling jurt. They couldn't wait 'til I got out of the shower?"_ Keith's voice groused.

 _"Coran,"_ Lance voice said, cutting through the other voices sharply. _"Open the Blue Lion's hanger door. I'm going after them."_

 _"So are we,"_ Hunk said firmly.

 _"Lance wait,"_ Keith called. _"What about my eye?"_

 _"Open the door Coran,"_ Lance said. _"That's an order."_

Coran agreed with Keith. Lance was much too tired for the battlefield but an order was an order. In this case, the advisor doubted there would be much fighting. One small vessel against the Lions wouldn't constitute much of a fight. For that reason, and that reason only, Coran acquiesced the prince's command and opened the Blue Lion's hanger door.

He watched as the Blue Lion leapt out of the Castle, onto the planetoid's surface, then into the sky blasting through the atmosphere. The Green Lion was ready to depart next so Coran opened that door as well. Then he opened the Yellow Lion's door and finally the Red Lion's door. The Green and Red Lions caught up to the Blue Lion's followed closely by the Red Lion.

There was nothing Coran could do now. He couldn't fly the Castle of Lions; it wasn't attuned to his quintessence. The only pilot the Castle would recognize was Allura. Perhaps if something happened to her, it would recognize Lance. It would probably never acknowledge Coran as its pilot. That thought never bothered Coran, until now. Now all he could do was wait and watch and it irked him to no end.

* * *

Lance pushed Blue much harder than he would normally do. But this was for Allura; this was for his sister. He couldn't fail her. Blue's growl of agreement echoed in his mind. She wasn't the fastest of her pride, but she was fast and she was a deadly shot. With the prince as her paladin, the Blue Lion couldn't miss.

The Green Lion's paladin quickly located the small ship darting through space towards the nearby asteroid belt. The Blue Lion increased her speed as much as she could. If she wanted to stop that vessel before it slipped into the asteroid belt, then she would have to hurry. However, the closer she got, the more she began to realize she wouldn't make it. Even the Red Lion couldn't catch up with the vessel.

Lance blinked and shook his head to clear his head. For a moment he had literally been the Blue Lion. He had felt her emotions, thought her thoughts, he had _been_ her.

 _"Lance!"_ Keith's voice rang through the Blue Lion's speakers. _"Frak it all, Lance **answer** me!"_

"I…I'm fine," Lance said. "I just, um, merged with the Blue Lion there for a tick."

 _"Merged?"_ Hunk asked, appearing on the view screen to Lance's left.

 _"You can do that?"_ Pidge gasped.

Lance grinned. "You all can. When we get back to the Castle with my sister and Shiro, we're going to start bonding," he said.

 _"Please tell me bonding doesn't require what I think it does,"_ Hunk groaned.

"Don't know what you're thinking Hunk," Lance said wryly, "but if the bonding works, then I'd have at least some idea." He watched the trader's vessel enter the edge of the asteroid belt and cursed. "Quiznack. I can't maneuver in there," he said, pulling his Lion up short.

 _"We could try plowing through it,"_ Hunk said and flew the Yellow Lion directly into the nearest asteroid. He barely made a dent in it, but from the paladin's voice, Hunk would certainly have a dent _. "Okay,"_ the yellow paladin mumbled. _"That didn't work. Bad idea. Very bad idea."_

"I can't get a good shot in either," Lance groaned, watching the vessel dart around asteroids. Maybe if he had both eyes, he could pull it off. But as it was, he was crippled. Alright then, time for plan B.

"Keith," he said, "your Lion is the fastest and most agile. I need you to fly in there and give me a clear shot. Can you do that?"

 _"You bet I can,"_ Keith said, sounding eager.

 _"I've got them on my tracker,"_ Pidge chimed in _. "I can give directions to you Keith if you need me to."_

 _"I might,"_ the red paladin answered. _"Keep track of both of us. Give me his location when you can."_

 _"Roger."_

 _"My name is Keithek, not Roger,"_ the red paladin groused.

 _"Roger isn't a name,"_ Hunk said. _"Well, it is, but it's not… You know what? Nevermind."_

Lance shook his head and watched as the Red Lion darted into the asteroid belt without listening to the yellow paladin's explanation. Lance flew his Lion around the asteroid belt until he hovered above it. He was having trouble keeping track of Keith and the kidnappers.

 _"Man, I knew something wasn't right about those guys,"_ Hunk grumbled, flying up to join the prince in the Blue Lion.

"Then next time you thing something isn't right, tell someone Hunk," Lance said turning to the yellow paladin in the left view screen.

The yellow paladin shrugged self-consciously. _"I wasn't sure if I was right or just on edge from the past few days,"_ he said.

 _"On your nine o'clock, up forty-five degrees,"_ Pidge said, giving directions to the red paladin. Or at least, that's what Lance thought she was doing. He'd never heard of directions like that before.

 _"What the frell does that mean?"_ Keith demanded in exasperation.

Apparently, the halfbreed hadn't heard of directions like that either.

 _"Left and up, Keith,"_ Pidge said urgently. _"Left and up! Move it!"_

 _"Quiznack,"_ the red paladin cursed, dodging behind a small asteroid to avoid several bolts of purple, condensed plasma.

 _"Yeah, we're going to have to exchange direction instructions and stuff ASAP,"_ Hunk grumbled.

 _"You're tellin' me,"_ the green paladin muttered. _"On you five, twenty degree- Ah fuck it. Behind you and above!"_

Lance winced, gripping his controls when the Red Lion executed a perfect spin, rolling onto its back and firing a blast at the kidnappers' vessel.

"Careful Keith!" Lance cried. "Aim to disable, not destroy. Shiro and my sister are still on board."

 _"I know,"_ the red paladin grumbled. _"I'm not stupid."_

"Then aim better," Lance said.

 _"I'd like to see you do better,"_ Keith snapped.

"Get him out so I can get a clear shot and I will."

"Is that a challenge, your highness?" Keith growled.

Lance smirked. "I don't know, is it?"

 _"Bitch it might be,"_ Pidge said, snickering. _"Get their ship up above that large asteroid so Hunk can whack it."_

 _"Me?"_ Hunk gasped.

"Good idea, Pidge," Lance said. "Hunk, when Keith gets that ship clear of the asteroids, hit it with the Yellow Lion. Then I'll take it out."

 _"Just don't hit me,"_ Keith said.

Lance smirked. "Maybe later."

 _"Boys, save the flirting for later,"_ Pidge said. _"Anytime Keith."_

Keith pounced on the vessel, knocking it around the large asteroid. It didn't clear the asteroid belt because they fired reverse thrusters. When the Yellow Lion slammed into it, the smaller ship tumbled through the asteroid field and Lance waited. His finger hovered over the trigger as he watched the kidnappers' ship tumble through space.

This shot had to count. He couldn't miss. If he accidentally destroyed the ship, then he could kill both Allura and Shiro. That was unacceptable.

He hesitated.

Frigid water enveloped his mind, submerging his consciousness in an ocean of ice cold liquid. He opened his eye and was stunned when he felt two eyes open. He gasped and felt a purr ripple the liquid around him. Blue. This was the Blue Lion's mind.

Lance relaxed himself, concentrating on loosening the bonds holding him to his body and immersed himself as deep into the Blue Lion's consciousness as he dared. They stared at the small, tumbling ship through the Blue Lion's eyes and took the shot.

Their aim was perfect. It hit the ship's engine, disabling it without causing it to explode. The two weapons towers on what they assumed was the ship's roof swiveled around to aim at them. They laughed at the pathetic attempt and blasted both towers cleanly from their mounts. The ship was defenseless.

No one stole a member of their pride. Ever. Their pride was their life. They flew towards the disabled vessel, drug their claws into the ship's outer hull, and dragged it back to the tiny planetoid. They dumped the dented thing on the ground and landed next to it, batting it playfully. They'd won. It was exhilarating and they wanted to celebrate.

Heat.

The sudden change in temperature startled them. They hopped back from their newfound toy and turned to their pride mate. The Red Lion stood in front of them, the heat radiating off of it in suffocating waves. They wanted to quench that eternal fire in their overwhelming cold.

No. No they didn't. They didn't want that.

…right?

The Red Lion moved closer and they moved back, dropping low on their haunches. Did the Red Lion wish to play? Maybe they did. They flicked their tail, retracting their claws, and pounced catching the Red Lion's haunch with their paws. The Red Lion dodged to the side, and flicked its tail in annoyance.

No? It didn't want to play? Too bad. They did.

They grinned and skipped to the side, batting at the Red Lion's tail teasingly. The Red Lion snapped at them and growled, beginning to take them seriously. Yes. Play with them. They wanted to play.

They settled down on the ground and waited patiently for the Red Lion to turn away. It never did turn its head away entirely, but that was all well and good. The Red Lion's tail swished in front of them like a tempting treat. How could they resist?

The snapped their jaws around their pridemate's tail and tugged, laughing when the Red Lion lost its balance and fell onto its side. They planted a clawless paw on the Red Lion's leg and quickly bounded away, waiting for their pridemate to follow. When they turned back to watch their new playmate chase them, they were surprised to see no trace of the Red Lion. They looked on either side of them and behind them.

A shadow fell on their face and they looked up. Too late. The Red Lion landed on top of them and clamped its jaws around their vulnerable neck, pinning them in place beneath their pridemate. No fair. They only wanted to play. They struggled to get away but the Red Lion just tightened its jaws and laid down, letting all of its considerable weight settle on the Blue Lion's back.

 _"Lance!"_

Lance? Why call that name? Their paladin was here with them. They made a sound that was halfway between a purr and a growl, flicking their tail and struggling against the Red Lion's grip.

 _"Submit!"_

Submit? Never. They would never submit. Not to anyone. They just wanted to play. Why wouldn't their pridemate play?

 _"Lance."_

They stiffened. That voice sounded familiar. The Red Lion's paladin? Why was he-

 _"You will submit to me, Lance. You're **mine**!"_

Wha-?

Their sight tunneled and Lance blinked back to himself. His entire body felt heavy as if he was pinned to his chair, unable to move. Something pressed against his chest, compressing it to the point breathing was a chore. He couldn't move and it terrified him. The cold flooding his body retreated slowly, tempered by heat that burned like fire.

 _"Lance! Do you hear me?"_

He tried to answer but couldn't. Speaking meant breathing which was beyond him at the moment.

 _"Lance, **answer** me."_

Quiznack, he was _trying_ to. He couldn't.

 _"I'll come in there,"_ Keith said. _"You hear me? Answer me or I'll come in there."_

Lance tried to will himself to move, but he couldn't. His body was too heavy. If he could just breathe.

"…Keith," he wheezed. "…'m here."

 _"I'm coming,"_ Keith said. _"Just hold on."_

"…'Llura?"

 _"She's fine,"_ Keith said. _"A bit banged up and mad as a Magog, but she's fine. Shiro's with her."_

Lance twitched. "Good."

He felt his eyelids grow heavy. The more he fought whatever was pinning him in place, the more tired he got. Blue purred and the blanket of soothing cold draped over his mind and body once more. He closed his eyes, and felt himself fall into the cold.

But not before something searing hot touched his skin.


	37. PART 2 - 37: Heated Discussions

**A/N:** I fell back to snark and fluff for this chapter as well as some explanations. The angst hasn't come back in full yet. I guess you get a break from it for a bit longer. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Allura is not happy, Pidge is a little shit, Coran is knowledgeable about stuff, and Rolo isn't sure what to make of all this insanity. **  
**

* * *

 **37: Heated Discussions  
**

She came to when something fell on top of her, knocking the wind out of her. Her eyes flew open, shutting almost immediately when her senses were assaulted by light, sound, and movement. Her arms were held behind her back by a pair of metal shackles and she was inside some kind of ship. That much she could tell immediately.

When she could open her eyes again, Allura gasped and looked around her. Shiro had been what landed on her, protecting her from a box that had fallen from the pile behind them. It had struck her black paladin's back and fallen to the side. Shiro's arms were braced on either side of Allura's body using his own body as a shield.

"Shiro?" she gasped.

"I'm fine," Shiro grunted. "You alright?"

The princess nodded, staring up at the paladin for a moment longer. His hands were free. She wriggled her own wrists, testing the metal's strength. After a tick, she gave up. "Cut me loose," she ordered. "We're getting out of here."

Shiro sighed and shook his head. "I don't think we'll be going anywhere right no-"

Something slammed into the ship they were in, throwing them across the floor to slam into the far wall.

"What the quiznack?" Allura cried.

Shiro sat up quickly and activated his mechanical arm. "Stay still," he said, waiting for the princess to nod before slicing through the metal binding her wrists. "You good?"

Allura nodded, pulling her aching arms back to their proper position and rubbing them gingerly. "Yes," she said, looking around her warily. She braced herself when the ship shuddered violently again, this time with a shouted curse. "What is going on here?" she demanded.

"They tricked us," Shiro said, helping the princess to her feet.

When he was sure Allura could stand, he turned his attention to the ship's small bridge where their kidnappers sat doing their best to control the flight. He grabbed one of the shelves welded to the ship's walls with one hand and Allura's slim waist with his other.

"Nyma?" Allura breathed, recognizing the yellow skinned alien she'd traded with.

"And Rolo," Shiro said, nodding to the ship's main pilot.

Allura fumed. "How dare they-"

She started towards them when Shiro grabbed her and pulled her back into his arms just into time for another jolt to rattle the small craft. A glass case flung free of its straps and crashed to the floor nearby.

"What is going on here?" Allura demanded loud enough for everyone to hear her.

"Frak," Nyma cursed, looking back at them before returning her focus to what looked like weapons controls. "Rolo, they're awake!"

"I don't... Jurt it all," Rolo snapped. "Don't pay attention to them. Pay attention to that red lion. Frakin' pilot's got some serious skills."

"Red Lion?" Allura gasped, lifting her eyes to the view from the bridge's windows as well as the view screens.

Sure enough, a bright red lion darted across the view too fast for Nyma to shoot down, expertly moving from asteroid to asteroid. It vanished from view, only to reappear in the view screen as a flashing alert. A tick later, something slammed into the ship again, tossing them around.

"Hunk!" Shiro cried.

Allura looked back at the screens long enough to see the hulking image of the Yellow Lion fly directly for them.

"Hang on!" the black paladin said, pressing the princess to the racks and covering her with his body.

When the Lion impacted the ship, they were sent hurtling through space in an erratic tumbling motion that would have had Hunk puking his guts everywhere. Rolo managed to slow the roll only for something to hit the engines, knocking them out altogether.

"What the-" Rolo cried. "Where the quiznack did that shot come from?!"

Something struck the ship again and this time it was Nyma who shouted in fury. "Frak, my guns are out!" She slammed her fists against the controls. "How the hell did that thing shoot us down?"

Metal scraped against metal in a loud, offensive sound that made all of their ears hurt. The next moment, the ship they were in was dragged through space until a familiar planetoid filled the ship's view screens. Rolo sighed and bowed his head, pulling his aviator's hat off and covering his face with his hands.

"Well," he said reluctantly, "I guess this means we lost."

Nyma sat in her seat, dumbstruck by the sudden turn of events. Rolo felt his stomach drop. He didn't like the idea of suffering the consequences of what they'd just attempted to do, but he liked the idea of Nyma taking the brunt of it even less. He unbuckled his seat belt and stood when whatever was carrying his ship finally dropped them on solid ground. He turned to his former captives and held up his hands in surrender.

"Look," he said slowly. "I'm sorry about what we did. But you have to understand, we-"

He never got the chance to finish when something smacked against the ship, knocking the whole thing on its side. Shiro once against covered Allura with his body, protecting her from the falling debris. This was getting ridiculous, Allura thought peeking out from her makeshift shield. She saw Rolo, Nyma, and Beezer all piled against the wall which was now the floor given the ship's new angle.

"You okay?" Shiro asked worriedly.

Allura nodded. "I'm getting very annoying with being tossed about like a toy though," she replied, crawling free of her paladin's arms. She carefully made her way to the forward windows and stared out. She was stunned to see the Blue Lion tug on the Red Lion's tail like a kitten.

"Lance?" she breathed in confusion.

She watched as the Red Lion took flight and landed on the Blue Lion's back, its jaws clamped firmly on the Blue Lion's throat pinning it to the ground. She quickly looked down at the ship's controls and started looking for the communicator.

"Hey, quiznacks," she shouted at the traders' turned kidnappers. "Where's your frelling communicator?"

"Wha-" Rolo's voice cut off when Allura heard the familiar sound of Shiro's weaponized hand activate. "On the left by the altimeter," Rolo called out submissively.

Allura didn't need to look back to know their would-be kidnappers were subdued for the time being. She climbed up what was currently the side of the ship up to the altimeter, pressed what she hoped was the communicator, and began shouting orders.

"Don't hurt him!" she said. "Keith, don't hurt him. He's not himself. I think the Lion is in control."

 _"What the quiznack does that mean?"_ the red paladin's voice replied, sounding strained and concerned.

"I'll explain as soon as I can, but don't hurt Lance please," Allura pleaded. "Call him. Try to call him back. Coran, can you hear me?"

 _"Loud and clear princess,"_ came her trusted advisor's reply. _"What do you need?"_

"Are Pidge and Hunk out there too?" Allura called.

 _"We're here princess,"_ Pidge said.

 _"Is Shiro with you?"_ Hunk asked.

Allura nodded habitually. "Yes, he is," she answered out loud. "He has Rolo and Nyma in custody at the moment."

"I should've known the metal wouldn't hold against your quiznacked arm," Rolo muttered.

"I'd be quiet if I were you," Shiro warned in a cold voice.

Allura chanced a look over her shoulder and decided this wasn't the time or the place for this. "Coran, I need you and Hunk to keep an eye on the ship," she ordered. "It won't be going anywhere but I don't want anyone slipping out of here either."

 _"Understood, princess,"_ Hunk said.

 _"What do you need me to do?"_ Pidge asked.

"I need you to help me and Shiro out of here first. We can't reach the latch by the door with the ship lying the way it is," Allura said. "Can you do that?"

 _"Sure thing,"_ Pidge chirped.

Allura listened to the sound of little feet land on what was currently the top of the ship followed by the sound metal slicing through metal. Everyone looked up to the current roof to see a red hot slice through the door. Rolo was not happy about the damage.

"My ship!?" he cried. "Don't-"

"After what you did to us, do you really think talking is a good choice right now?" Shiro warned.

"I'd get out from under this if I were you," Pidge shouted through the slice.

The black paladin grabbed Rolo but his jacket collar and Nyma by her arm and dragged them towards to rear of the ship so they were all clear of the damaged door's landing.

"Ready when you are," he called up the green paladin.

A tick later, a huge metal claw pierced the door and yanked it off its hinges. Rolo teared up at the sight.

"My ship," he moaned.

Shiro rolled his eyes and dropped the idiot to the floor. He strolled up to the opening when Pidge landed on the metal side and stuck her head through the hole upside down.

"Hey Pidge," he said, with a smile.

"Don't 'hey Pidge' me, Space Dad," Pidge groused to Shiro mortification. "You and Space Mom should know better than to go running off and leave the kids behind without telling anyone. Coran was distraught."

Shiro's face was flaming red and Allura's eyebrow was twitched.

"Space Mom?" the princess repeated, caught between annoyance and amusement.

"Geez," Pidge muttered loudly, "you guys-" She cut off and sat up, pulling her head out of the hole to yell something to someone outside. "I'm going to drop my bayard down there and haul you up."

"Alone?" Allura asked, earning herself patronizing look.

"What do you think?" Pidge groaned.

"I don't want to hurt you or anything," the princess said, dropping down from the bridge's controls to the floor and walking up so she stood next to Shiro. "If you're not strong enough, you don't have to-"

"Well, excuse me princess," Pidge said, exaggerating the word 'excuse' to the amusement of the black paladin. Pidge snickered and winked at Shiro. "Someone got the reference," she said. "I guess you're not that hurt then. Grab on."

Pidge activated her bayard and slung the buzzing green blade down so it embedded itself in the current ceiling by the welded shelves. "Use those shelves as a ladder," she said. "Climb as high as you can then use the cord to get the rest of the way up."

"You got it," Shiro said. He looked at the princess and held out a hand. "Ladies first."

Allura sighed and walked up to the shelves. She used Shiro's outstretched arm to keep her balance while she stood on the bar and hopped up to catch the bar above her. A quick swing and a kick and she looped her feet over another bar. Hanging by her hands and feet, Allura made her way over the bars to Pidge's bayard.

"You must've played on the monkey bars a lot as a kid, huh?" Pidge teased.

"I have no idea what a monkey bar is," Allura said, adjusting her grip so she could grab the bayard cord. "But that had better not have been an insult."

Pidge cackled. "Well if it was, then I think I just insulted myself too."

"Are you guys always like this?" Rolo asked from where he sat on the floor still. Shiro had to admit, the trader pilot looked rather pathetic like that surrounded by the broken and tossed remains of the items he once valued.

"No," Shiro said, a teasing grin on his face. "Normally we're worse."

"You included yourself!" Pidge crowed. "You can't take it back. Hey Hunk! Shiro just admitted to being insane like us!"

A loud whoop was audible even inside the ship and Shiro facepalmed. "Why are all you acting like spoiled, rotten kids?" he groaned.

"Because we can, Space Dad," Pidge snarked.

"Please don't call me that," Shiro said.

"Too late," Pidge said. "You're turn. Climb up."

Shiro shook his head and began his trek up and out of the ship's damaged door.

"Wait," Nyma cried, standing quickly. "You can't just leave us here."

"Watch us, bitch," Pidge said.

"It's not permanent," Allura said from her place on top of the ship. She glared down through the hole at the traders. "It's just until I decide what to do with you. In the meantime, Hunk will keep an eye on you."

"Hunk?" Nyma said. "You mean the yellow one?"

A giant Yellow Lion leaned its head over the hole and stared down at a now cowering Rolo and Nyma. _"Someone call me?"_ Hunk's voice said through the Yellow Lion's speakers.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me," Rolo said.

 _"You know,"_ Hunk said _, "you probably should have thought about this before you betrayed us."_

"We did," Rolo said, lifting his eyes to the princess and Pidge while Shiro climbed out through the damaged door. "We did this because we had to. We didn't have much of a choice."

"Yeah, that's what they all say," Pidge said, sneering at the pilot.

"It's true," Rolo said fiercely. "It's been years fighting against the Galra that led us to this life in the first place. You think we turn in other people for the fun of it? What are you, Galra?"

"If we were, you'd be dead," Pidge said, glaring.

"Pidge," Shiro said, placing his metal arm on the infuriated green paladin. "Take it easy. We're all okay. No real harm done."

"Yeah, tell that to Lance," Pidge said.

"Lance?" Allura gasped. "What happened to him? Is he alright?"

"I don't know. You tell me," Pidge said, freeing her bayard blade from the inside of the ship and allowing it to retract back to the handle before deactivating it. "You seemed to know what was going on when he went all hyper kitten on Keith's ass."

 _"Literally,"_ Hunk added. _"Dude, who knew right?"_

The princess sighed heavily. "I'll explain once we get inside," she said. "Hunk, keep your communicator on. I'm going to contact Coran and ask what he thinks we should do with them." He looked back down into the ship making it clear whom she was referring to.

Rolo stood in the reddish light shining through the hole and met the princess's gaze seriously. "I'm sorry," he said. "I am. You don't have to believe me. I don't expect you to. But if you plan on punishing us, then leave Nyma out of this."

"Rolo-"

"It was my idea," he said louder, holding up a hand to stop Nyma's argument. "I made the decision, she went along with it. I take full responsibility."

Shiro sat back and looked up at Allura. The princess's held herself stiffly with a mask of detached calm on her face. Eventually, she nodded. "I'll take your request into consideration," she said. "If none of my people were harmed in this debacle, then I'll be lenient."

"You aren't our princess," Nyma shouted, standing next to Rolo. "You can't command us."

"Says you," Pidge said.

"What planet are you from?" Rolo asked. "I've never met a race like yours."

"Wouldn't you like to know," Pidge said, smirking. She stood and climbed back into her Lion's open mouth. "I'm going to check on Keith and the Blue Lion. It looks like the Blue Lion has gone into standby mode for no- Oh! Huh. Well, shit."

"What?" Allura asked, turning around to where the Red and Blue Lions were. "What is it? What's going on?"

"It's Keith," Pidge said, holding her communicator close to her ear. "He says there's something wrong with Lance."

"What's wrong with him?" Shiro asked.

"Let me talk to Keith please," Allura demanded, holding out her hand for Pidge's communicator.

 _"I have him on my communicator,"_ Hunk said. _"I can put him on speaker too so we can all hear him, if you want."_

"Do that, Hunk," the princess said.

"Um, hello," Rolo called up. "Still here."

"Shut up," Pidge quipped.

"Ouch. Rude."

 _"Princess? Are you there?"_ Keith's voice called over Hunk's speaker.

"I'm here, Keith," Allura said. "Can you hear me?"

 _"Yeah."_

Allura crossed her arms and fought the urge to pace. "I need you to tell me exactly what's wrong with Lance," she said.

 _"Uh, he's cold,"_ Keith said. _"By cold I mean freezing. And his eye is open but he's not responding to anything."_

"You said his eyes were open?" Allura said.

 _"Yes."_

"Are his pupils…his pupil responding to light?" she asked, stumbling over her words.

 _"Let me check."_

Everyone waited silently while Keith worked.

 _"Yeah, they are,"_ Keith said at last. _"But he doesn't blink when I wave or snap my fingers in front of his eye."_

Allura bit her lip. "Coran are you getting this?" she said suddenly.

 _"I am princess,"_ the advisor said over Hunk's speaker.

 _"Well this is the first conference call if I've ever made before,"_ Hunk said.

"Wow, really?" Pidge asked, bewildered.

 _"It sounds like he came back from a meld too quickly,"_ Coran continued as if Hunk had never spoken. _"Try not to wake him, Keith. You said he's cold."_

 _"Yes, he is. He's like ice."_

 _"Then stay close to him,"_ Coran said. _"But whatever you do, do **not** try to wake him. He has to wake up on his own. If he starts shivering, warm him up. But otherwise, leave him be."_

 _"And he'll be okay?"_ Keith said. _"He'll wake up?"_

 _"Technically, he is awake,"_ Coran said. _"He's just not in his own mind right now. He's deep in his bond with the Blue Lion. He has to come out of it on his own."_

 _"Hey, um, not to be a Debbie Downer here, but how long will this take?"_ Hunk asked warily.

"Why?" Allura asked.

 _"Coran and I made a promise to the Balmera,"_ Hunk said. _"We said we'd be back there within a week to perform the energy exchange thingy. It's already been almost four days."_

"A week?" Allura repeated uncertainly.

"A turn," Shiro said.

Allura nodded and bit her lip. She looked down to their prisoners below in thought. "We don't have much time then," she murmured.

"As much as I would like to," Shiro said, drawing the princess's attention, "we can't just leave them here like this. It's inhumane."

Pidge sulked. "I hate it," she muttered, "but I agree with Shiro."

 _"Well we can't let them wander around the Castle either,"_ Hunk said. _"We'd just be asking for another Sendak."_

 _"I'll kill them first,"_ Keith hissed.

"That won't be necessary," Allura said over their prisoners' cries of shock. "Coran, could you get two prison pods ready?"

 _"You're going to put them **next** to Sendak?"_ Keith exclaimed. _"Are you **asking** for trouble?"_

"Unless you have a better idea, Keith," Allura said in curt, clipped tones, "this is the best option. I won't leave them here to die. Besides," she added, "it's our fault that their ship is damaged this badly."

"They shouldn't have kidnapped you then," Pidge said.

 _"Agreed,"_ Keith said. _"You should all go to the Balmera without me and Lance."_

 _"What?"_ Hunk cried.

"The fuck Keith? No," Pidge snapped.

"We won't leave you, _either_ of you behind," Shiro said firmly. "That didn't work out well last time and I'd rather not test our luck this time either."

 _"Please don't give me a heart attack,"_ Coran chimed in. _"I'm not as young as I used to be."_

"Then we have no choice," Allura said. "I guess they're coming with us for the time being. We'll deal with them after we free the Balmera from the Galra."

"Free the Balm- Are you guys frelling insane?" Rolo shouted from inside his ship. "You can't free a planet from the Galra. You either repel them when they first invade -good luck with that by the way- or you die resisting, or you bow your head and deal."

"Weakling," Pidge said derisively.

"Excuse me?!" Nyma shouted. "Like you know anything."

"I may not know about intergalactic tyrants trying to take over the universe," Pidge said, "but I know a thing or two about crazy lunatic tyrants murdering thousands or millions of innocent people just because they're different, enslaving others, and conquering the rest just because they can. We've had a few from our planet. Most of them are dead now. There's a reason for that too. We don't stand for crazy, power-hungry, murderous tyrants. Especially crazy, power-hungry, murderous _space_ tyrants."

 _"Space Nazis,"_ Hunk said. "And we all know what happened to those guys."

Pidge smirked. "We need a nuke."

 _"No!"_ Hunk said loudly. _"No, Pidge. No nukes."_

"Aw," the green paladin said sulking. "You're no fun."

Shiro blinked and shook his head. "I'm surrounded by crazy people," he said.

"Join the club Space Dad," Pidge said.

 _"Yeah,"_ Hunk said laughing. _"Oh, and welcome to the family Space Mom."_

"I am _not_ your mother," Allura said indignantly. "I'm much too young for that."

"Space Mom!" Pidge cheered.

Down below in the damaged ship, Rolo looked at Nyma and gulped. "We're going to die," he said in a small voice.


	38. PART 2 - 38: Burning Ice

**A/N:** For all of you patiently reading and waiting for the klance to begin, I present this chapter. Read and enjoy. As for me, I'm going to try to get some sleep while my next door neighbors throw a party with loud music, banging, and general obnoxiousness that's all audible through our shared wall. *buries face in pillows* Insufferable jerks.

 **Chapter summary:** In which Keith worries, Lance gets warmed up, Rolo doesn't trust the Castle's tech, and Team Voltron arrives at the Balmera. **  
**

* * *

 **38: Burning Ice  
**

Keithek crouched by the Blue Lion's pilot seat watching Lance closely. The prince's chest rose and fell at a steady, even pace and his eye was open and responsive to changes in light. No matter what Keithek had tried, nothing seemed to pull Lance closer to the waking world. Coran said he had to just wait. It was maddening and frustrating.

There was no way it was healthy for Lance to be as cold as he was. Keithek had only ever touched dead bodies that had the same temperature as the prince's skin. It made no sense. Keithek was certain that a normal person would have begun to shiver by this point, but Lance remained still.

He stood from his crouch and placed a hand on Lance's unbandaged cheek. The skin under his palm was cold. Seeing Lance in this state bothered him. It just didn't fit with what he knew of the Altean. Ever since Keithek had first met Lance, the prince had been open with his emotions, never hiding what he was thinking or feeling. Keithek had begun to wonder if Lance was even capable of hiding things.

His thoughts were derailed when the chilled skin beneath his palm moved. He blinked and looked down at Lance's face. The prince's eye had closed and he'd turned his face into the red paladin's hand in a weak nuzzle.

Keithek immediately placed his other hand on the side of Lance's neck over his Mark and rested his forehead on his mate's. He wanted so badly so call Lance back from wherever his mind was but Coran had ordered him not to. Then Lance shivered and Keithek stopped resisting. He gathered Lance into his arms and slid into the pilot seat taking the prince's place. He settled his mate comfortably in his arms so Lance's head rested against his chest under his neck and began rubbing his mate's arms to warm him up.

After a few ticks, Lance's eyes fluttered open but he didn't pull away. Instead he cuddled closer into the red paladin's warmth and tilted his head back tickling Keithek's neck with his soft hair.

"Keith?" he called softly.

"I'm here," Keithek answered just as softly. "Are you okay?"

Lance hummed and shuddered. "Cold," he muttered, snuggling closer to Keithek. "What happened? Is Allura-"

"She's fine," Keithek said. "She's with the others."

He felt Lance nod slowly. "What about Rolo and Nyma?"

"Allura's putting them in the prison pods last I checked," Keithek said. "Their ship is too badly damaged to leave them here alone."

Lance sighed. "Won't…forgive them," he murmured drowsily.

"Say awake," Keithek said, nudging Lance gently. "I get the feeling Allura wants us to move back the Lions back into the Castle as quickly as we can. We need to get to the Balmera."

Lance quickly roused himself and sat up, pulling away from Keithek's heat. "Right," he grumbled, rubbing circles gingerly over his temple.

"Headache?"

The prince shook his head and winced. "No, just a little foggy," he said. He turned in his seat and his eye widened when he realized he was sitting in the red paladin's lap. "Um, Keith?"

"You were cold," Keith said, a faint blush in his cheeks. "Coran said I should keep you warm if you started shivering."

"Oh," Lance said in a small voice.

His cheeks burned a brilliant crimson that the Red Lion would be proud of. His eye skipped away from where he was sitting in Keithek's lap to the red paladin's face, then his lips. His blush darkened and he looked away, moving to stand up. Keithek narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip preventing his mate from leaving.

"Wha- Keith?" Lance gasped, placing his hands on the red paladin's chest. "What are you doing? Let go."

"Not yet," Keithek said, never looking away from Lance's face.

"Keith," Lance said, trying to push one of Keithek's hands resting on his waist away so he could stand, "let me go."

"Lance," Keithek said sternly, reaching up with the hand Lance hadn't grabbed and taking the prince's chin between his fingers. He turned Lance's head so the prince had no choice but to look at his face. "Kiss me."

"Wh-what?" Lance gasped, laughing in disbelief. "You can't be serious. We need to get back to Allura."

"Coran made me promise not to make the first move," Keithek said, overriding Lance's voice. "So you have to do it first."

"This isn't the time or the place, Keith," Lance said, trying to pull away from Keithek's grip.

"Do you want me to stop?" the red paladin asked sincerely.

Lance stilled. "No," he murmured.

"Then make the first move."

Lance's eye flickered down to Keithek's lips then back up to his eyes. He swallowed. "Just a kiss?" he asked. "Nothing else?"

"Nothing else," Keithek promised.

The prince sighed and hesitantly leaned forward so his lips brushed Keithek's softly. He never got the chance to pull away. The hand that had been gripping his chin buried in his hair and held him in place, startling a muffled cry from him. An arm wrapped around his back and pushed him so his chest was flush against Keithek's. The hand on his back settled between his shoulder blades and spread out so the fingers could scratch his back through the fabric of his shirt.

* * *

The kiss was surprisingly deep. Lance's mouth was filled by Keith's tongue and, though he still had misgivings about this whole thing, he couldn't deny that it did feel good. He was surrounded by warmth that leeched into his body, chasing away the lingering cold that welled from deep inside him.

Kissing Keith was like kissing fire. It burned and soothed leaving his skin tingling and hypersensitive. Heat seeped into his back through his shirt and was breathed into him through the kiss. He shivered and whimpered.

Hot. It was so hot. The cold within him was creeping over his consciousness and only Keith's warmth was keeping it at bay. The Blue Lion purred in his mind and his breath caught as the chill frosted over his senses. His arms slithered up between their chests and cupped Keith's face, tilting his head to deepen the kiss further. He needed the heat or the Blue Lion's cold would freeze him alive.

Don't stop. Don't stop. Please don't stop. Stay here.

He shuddered and gasped, breaking the kiss. He could feel the cold melting with every searing touch from his mate. It sent tremors zinging up his spine. What he would give to have his other eye back, he thought, opening his one eye to gaze at Keith. Just the red paladin's gaze was a flame that Lance both feared and need. He wanted to gaze into that flame clearly.

Keith was a fire that could kill and destroy just as easily as it could warm and soothe. By kissing Keith, Lance was allowing himself to court danger. Strangely, that thought didn't bother him as much as it probably should have. He knew Keith would never deliberately hurt him. Fire never deliberately harmed after all. It simply did what it always had and always would do: it burned. If something got burned, it was because it got too close to the flames and paid the price.

Lance was willingly placing himself close to the flames and hoping they wouldn't burn him. So far they hadn't, but how long would that luck last? The Blue Lion growled in his mind sending another pulse of cold into his chest which in turn forced him to dive back into the kiss to melt away the cold.

This hadn't been the plan. Lance hadn't meant to give in so easily. But the heat… It was right there, all around him, and he wanted it. He _needed_ it. He moaned when another wave of ice crawled through his veins only to thaw under Keith's fiery touch. He was losing himself.

He had to stop. It was too soon. He needed to slow down. There were things that needed to be done. Things he had to see to.

Later.

 _"Keith."_

Allura's voice was like a lightning strike to Lance's mind. "Allura?" he gasped, perhaps a bit more breathless than he meant to be.

 _"Lance! You're awake."_

"I, um, I am yes," Lance said, hyper-aware of Keith leaning forward to rest his head on the prince's neck with an annoyed groan. "Are you alright?" he asked, trying to ignore the red paladin's movements.

 _"I'm fine,"_ his sister said. _"Shiro and I are taking Rolo and Nyma to the prison pods. Pidge is temporarily disabling their cyber-unit so it doesn't cause any trouble."_

"That's good." Lance's eye widened and the hairs on the back of his neck rose when a tongue brushed his Mark. Keith wouldn't dare. "Do you need me to bring the Blue Lion in?" he asked.

Keith _would_ dare. Lance had to take a deep breath and hold it when Keith scraped his teeth teasingly over his Mark, licking up Lance's neck to his ear.

 _"Yes, please,"_ Allura said over the Blue Lion's inner speakers. _"We'll be heading to the Balmera as soon as we can."_

Lance's eye rolled back and he let his head fall to the side, baring the side of his neck and his ear to Keith who readily devoured the shell of his ear. "I can do that," he said after a moment.

 _"Lance,"_ Allura said seriously. _"Are you alright? Really? Did you merge with the Blue Lion?"_

Lance nodded, belatedly remembering his sister couldn't see him. Thank quiznack. "Yes," he sighed, sliding one hand into Keith's hair and gripping it tight. "I'll be fine. I'm just cold." He hummed. "Be there soon."

 _"Good,"_ she replied. After a moment she spoke again. _"Keith, you had better not be kissing my baby brother."_

Keith stiffened and Lance sighed gustily. "You'll pay for that, 'Llura," Lance said in a strained voice.

 _"Get your sorry self back here and tell me to my face,"_ the princess said primly.

Lance reluctantly pulled away from the red paladin's mouth. "We'll be there soon," he said.

 _"I'll be waiting."_

Keith groaned. "That woman-"

"Is my sister so watch your words," Lance said, glaring mildly at the red paladin.

Keith yanked him back into a lingering kiss that Lance couldn't help but return. The prince tightened his grip on the red paladin's hair before running his fingers through the strands. He opened his eye and glanced quickly up at the halfbreed's ears. He let his eye close again when Keith nipped his tongue teasingly.

As payback, Lance moved his hands up through Keith's hair until his fingers brushed those ears. When he began massaging the ears, Keith made an adorably strangled sound that Lance gleefully swallowed. His laughter was muffled by Keith's mouth when the red paladin held him closer.

However, their positions were less than comfortable for this game. Lance was situated on Keith's lap so his right side brushed Keith's body. He'd managed to twist his torso so that he could face the red paladin as best he could. But his legs were still pinned between Keith's right knee and the armrest of the chair and he couldn't tug them free with so little leverage to work with.

"We need to stop," Lance said, breaking the kiss. "Before my sister comes in here." He nuzzled Keith's cheek, brushing the warm skin with his nose. "Or worse, Coran."

Keith grumbled and pulled Lance in for one more kiss, nipping the prince's lip when he let go. "Fine," he breathed against Lance's mouth, smirking when the prince instinctively leaned closer to the warmth. "I think I've warmed you enough for now."

Lance's face burned and he scrambled out of Keith's lap. "I'll just, um, fly the Blue Lion back to the hanger," he said. "You should do the same with the Red Lion."

"I should," Keith teased, grinning.

"Get out of my chair and do it, you idiot," the prince order, flustered.

The red paladin shrugged and stood, striding confidently out of the cockpit to the Blue Lion's exit ramp. "Let me know if you ever want to be warmed up again," he tossed over his shoulder.

"You wish," Lance muttered. The chill was still there, like an ice core, but the rest of the prince's body was warm and comfortable. The Blue Lion rumbled in his mind and he got the distinct impression that she was laughing at him. "Don't you start too, Blue," he said.

She didn't stop making that sound the whole flight back to the hanger.

* * *

"These things are safe, right?" Rolo asked, staring at the cryopods lining the hallway in the bowels of the Castleship. "I mean, thanks for not killing us earlier," he said quickly, "but I hope you didn't spare us then to freeze us to death now."

"It's perfectly safe," Coran said, typing in a code that should have activated the first pod. Instead, nothing happened. "Hm, strange."

"Strange?" Nyma said, eyeing the pod suspiciously. "Strange doesn't sound safe."

"What is it Coran?" Allura asked, stepping up to her advisor and leaving the two captives in Shiro's capable hands.

"Well, it's odd," Coran said, leaning back from the keypad and studying at the cryopod itself. "The pod should have turned on, but it didn't." He shook his head. "I guess we should add that to the list of minor issues we're having."

"Issues with the Castle?" Shiro asked. "You never mentioned that before."

Coran shrugged. "Well, it wasn't much of a problem before," he said casually. "Just minor nuisances. Probably due to the Galra installing their crystal into the Castle and corrupting the system."

"We need to clear as much of the Galra crystal's influence from the systems as possible," Allura said. "Can you get any of the other pods to work?"

"Well, that's just it," the advisor said, turning his gaze to the princess. "This is the last cryopod I've tried. The others aren't working properly or aren't working at all. Some probably won't work because they haven't been properly maintained but the ones that do work are sporadic and I wouldn't trust them to be safe yet."

"You said they were safe!" Rolo cried, leaning away from the cryopod like it was going to bite him.

Allura sighed and crossed her arms. She turned to her prisoners, dropping her eyebrows low over her eyes in a frown. "I guess you got off lucky this time," she said. "We'll confine you both to a room until we finish with the Balmera."

"How do you know we won't try to escape?" Nyma asked warily. Rolo nudged her and shook his head.

"Because if you did, then you'd be flying right to the Galra," Allura said with a sly grin. "And I'm pretty sure that's not what you want."

Nyma's shoulders drooped in agreement. Allura lifted her eye to her black paladin and nodded to him. "Take them to the training arena and turn on the invisible maze. That should keep them busy while we deal with things out here."

Shiro's eyes widened and he chuckled. "Yes ma'am," he said. He took Rolo's elbow in one hand and Nyma's in the other and pulled them down the hall to the lift which would take them to the training arena on the upper floors.

When Shiro and the prisoners were out of earshot, Allura turned back to her advisor. "Do you think this is the Galra crystal's influence, or his?" she asked quietly, glancing at the only active cryopod in the hall where Sendak was kept.

Coran narrowed his eyes and looked over his shoulder at the frozen Galra commander's pod. "I think it's the crystal," he said slowly. "We haven't tried moving Sendak's consciousness to a memory core yet. He shouldn't be able to affect the ship in his current state unless we do that."

Allura pursed her lips and nodded. "Keep an eye on him," she said.

"I most definitely will," Coran said sincerely.

* * *

"Is that it?" Pidge asked, staring at the enormous asymmetrical thing filling the Castle bridge's forward view screens.

"Yeah, that's it," Hunk said standing from his paladin pilot chair.

"It looks…like a desert down there," Shiro said hesitantly.

Hunk nodded. "It does. It's alive but the Galra's mining is killing it."

Coran pulled up life sign readings from the Castleship's scanners and overlaid it on the Balmera's visible appearance. "As you can see," he said, gesturing to the colors displayed on the screens, "it's not doing well at all. The poor thing is definitely suffering. I'd say at this rate, it won't be long for this world."

"No," Allura whispered, gazing up at the Balmera heartbroken.

"We're not going to let that happen," Hunk said. He turned to face the princess and his team in determination. "We're going to save the Balmera and we're going to save Shay. Coran and I promised them we'd do this."

"We know, we know," Pidge teased, holding her clasped hands up to her cheek in mock adorable. "Your girlfriend needs her brave knight in shining armor to come swoop in in his Yellow Lion and save her."

Hunk shot his friend a flat look. "I'm serious Pidge," he said.

"I know you are," she said. "I'm just messing with you."

"We're ready to help any way we can," Shiro said, studying the readings from the Balmera on the view screen. "I'm guessing the surface is covered with mining equipment."

"It is, but most of the Galra troops will be inside the Balmera," he said, turning to the screen. He joined Coran by the controls and pointed at a few locations on the image. "These are some of the mining holes. There are tunnels that connect these and run throughout the inside of the Balmera. We'll have to do something to lure the Galra out so we can attack them."

"Why can't we just go in there and blow them up? That'd be a lot easier," Keith said, ignoring the look of amused disbelief Lance was giving him.

"Because the Balmera is alive," Allura said. "If we accidentally hit it with our weapons, we risk harming it and the enslaved Balmerans inside. It would be a massacre."

Keith flushed and looked away. "Oh, sorry. I didn't think about that."

"I think that is the main power generator," Coran said, pulling up a zoomed in image of a black metal fortress with purple energy arching across a row of conductors. "If you destroy that, the Galra should come to the surface without a problem."

"Keep an eye out for that tower though," Keith said, pointing to the tower at the far end of the power generator. It had three spikes at the top that glowed with the same purple energy as the energy that arched across the main building. "It's a weapon. It's powerful, but not as powerful as an ion canon. But that also means it doesn't take as long to recharge between shots."

"Good to know," Allura said. "You can take care of that then. Coran and I will remain in the Castle in the cloud cover. We're still working on removing the influence from Sendak's crystal so our power levels and systems aren't at full yet. We won't be much help to you I'm afraid."

"Okay, but how will we know if all of the Galra come to the surface or not?" Pidge asked.

"She's right," Keith said. "The real Galra won't come up to the surface if they can help it. They'll send the sentries up instead."

"Not to mention the fact we'll have to differentiate between the Galra sentries' signals from the Balmerans'," Hunk said.

"If we use the Biothermal Life Indicator Point Technology," Allura began, pulling up a holographic image of a small, egg-shaped device from her controls, "then we'll be able to do just that. We'll also be able to track their movements and any potential road blocks as well." She grimaced. "Unfortunately, that means one of you will have to fly around the Balmera and drop the devices into the tunnels personally in your Lion."

"I can do that," Pidge said, raising her hand. "I was able to upgrade the Green Lion while Lance was recovering with the invisible maze's cloaking technology. I can fly around the Balmera in stealth mode and drop the BLIP Techs that way while you guys take care of the power generator."

"BLIP Techs?" Allura asked in confusion.

Pidge adjusted her glasses and looked at the princess strangely. "It's an acronym," she said slowly. "We use those for words or phrases and stuff that are too long or too much of a pain to say. Biothermal Life Indicator Point Technology is a mouthful. BLIP Tech is easier."

"You're telling me," Hunk said snickering.

"I have to agree with you there," Shiro said with an indulgent smile.

"I see," the princess said. She blinked and shook her head. "BLIP Tech it is then, I suppose."

"Alright," Shiro said. "I'll take care of the main power generator then. Keith, you worry about that tower weapon. Lance, Hunk, you guys work on disabling the mining rigs around the area and Pidge, you get those BLIP Techs into place."

"Yeah!" Hunk cheered. "Okay guys, let's do this! Let's go kick some alien butt!"

"You humans have the strangest way of saying things," Lance said with a teasing smirk.

"Says the alien," Pidge snarked.

"Hey," the prince said, "who's the alien here?"

"I don't know," Pidge said, tucking her hands in her pockets. "Who's getting their butt banged up?"

"WOAH NANANALALALA NOT LISTENING!" Hunk shouted, slapping his hands over his ears.

"Calm down you two," Shiro said, although a blush was coloring his cheeks. "Save your energy for the battle. You were able to nap on the way here so hopefully you're all awake enough for this."

"I could use some coffee right about now, but otherwise I'm fine," Pidge said.

"Oh man, coffee," Hunk said sighing dreamily.

Shiro sighed too, startling the group. "What I'd give for just one cup of the stuff," he mumbled.

Hunk and Pidge winced. "Okay, that's settled," Hunk said. "We're making a pit stop back on Earth to get some coffee."

"I'm behind that 100%," Pidge said.

"Coffee will be our prize for winning," Hunk said, holding out his fist to Pidge. "Brofist."

"You betcha," she said, meeting Hunk's fist with her own. She smirked and tossed Lance a teasing wink. "Well, coffee for us humans. You aliens will be too busy get your butts bange-"

"LALALA!" Hunk said, yanking his fist back and covering his ears with his hands. "BROFIST TAKEN BACK! NOT LISTENING. MY EARS AREN'T BLEEDING!"

Shiro sighed heavily and gazed skyward wondering what madness dropped him into this crazy family. He didn't regret it one bit.


	39. PART 2 - 39: Cool Darkness

**A/N:** This is a slightly shorter chapter than usual and I'm sorry. I'm just seriously tired and have work tomorrow. Meh.

However, I've gotten a few questions regarding the characters' ages. Their general appearances aren't that different from the show like Pidge is still short, but Lance has pointy-ears. That sort of thing. But I've aged them up a bit. These are their ages in Earth years:

Shiro: 28  
Hunk: 21  
Pidge: 19  
Keith: 21  
Lance: 21  
Allura: 25  
Coran: 47

Hope that helps clear up a few things. Because honestly, I can't think of any military branch that will admit high schoolers as active officers. The Galaxy Garrison is very likely a military college working side by side with civilian scientist. That's much more believable. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which the assault begins, the Lions have secret weapons, Shiro hates falling, and Hunk meets some old friends and enemies. **  
**

* * *

 **38: Cool Darkness  
**

The moment the Black Lion burst out of its launch tunnel and into the Balmeran sky, the Galra began their attack. The smaller towers that marked the start and end of every arcing purple energy beam fired blasts of similar purple energy at the Lions of Voltron.

"This is it guys," Shiro said. "Look alive."

 _"We are alive,"_ Keith said, sounding confused.

 _"It's a phrase, Keith,"_ Hunk said.

"Remember the Balmera is a living creature," Shiro continued. "Pinpoint your attacks on the Galra equipment only. Good luck."

 _"Roger,"_ Hunk said as the same time Pidge said _"10-4."_

 _"Your phrases are so weird,"_ Keith said.

Lance laughed. _"Why don't you focus on taking out that tower weapon instead of complaining, Fluffy Ears,"_ he teased.

 _"You call him Fluffy Ears?"_ Pidge said and began cackling madly, diving her Green Lion down and cloaking before the Red Lion could snap at her.

 _"I will kill you,"_ Keith growled in annoyance.

"Guys," Shiro groaned. "Focus."

The main tower weapon finished charged and fired a blast of solidified purple energy that formed a three spired pinwheel like the tower it originated from. The glowing attack spiraled straight at the Blue Lion which dodged to the side and dove down to join the Yellow Lion in attacking the Galra mining equipment. Shiro slowed his Lion until it hovered near the power generator.

Lance was doing a magnificent job taking down the smaller Galra tower weapons with the plasma gun in the Blue Lion's tail. Hunk and ramming his Lion into the heavier machinery, weakening the structures before blasting them with the Yellow Lion's mouth gun. Pidge was off dropping the BLIP Techs cloaked and Keith was expertly dodging enemy fire and focusing his attention on the power generator's main weapon. It was up to Shiro to thoroughly disable to generator.

"Okay," he muttered to himself, "how do I take this thing down?"

As if responding to his question, the Black Lion growled in his head, startling him. Then the screens in front of him lit up with purple schematics for a curved blade that fit snugly in the Black Lion's massive jaw. The razor sharp blades extended out from either side of the Black Lion's mouth. With this, Shiro could cut through reinforced steel with ease.

"Oh," he said, leaning back in his chair to study the weapon's designs. The Black Lion purred and, like a rush of wind, Shiro _knew_ how to activate this new weapon. The corners of his mouth twitched upwards until he smirked. "Well alright then. Jaw Blade it is."

He took his controls, pressed the combination of buttons the Black Lion purred into his mind and grinned when the Jaw Blade materialized in his Lion's mouth. He flew his Lion down so he skimmed the Balmera's surface and dragged the left blade of the Jaw Blade along the sides of the glowing structures that created the arching energy beams. The gouges he left behind caused the main structure of the generator to combust, exploding in balls of fire and smoke that brought a triumphant smile to his face.

However, Keith hadn't taken out the Galra's main tower weapon yet. It seemed the tower was much more reinforced than the power generator itself. Shiro shook his head at the irony. It would be typical of the Galra to choose their weapons over energy production. He prepared to join the Red Lion when he saw something he couldn't believe causing him to pull the Black Lion up short in shock.

Without warning, the Red Lion executed a perfect loop so it faced the Galra weapon, opened its mouth wide, and fired a stream of blazing liquid fire directly at the tower's tapering trunk. The heat from the blast melted a hole straight through the metal that continued to glow red hot even after the fire dissipated.

 _"Did you see that?!"_ Keith shouted victoriously. _"I have fire power!"_

 _"Now freaking way,"_ Hunk cried.

 _"Well, that explains that,"_ Lance muttered in a voice that was barely audible over the speakers. _"I wonder if I have something like that?"_

 _"All BLIP Techs dropped pri- Katie,"_ Pidge said, catching herself before saying the princess's title or name over the unsecured channel.

 _"Good job Pidge,"_ Allura said. _"The devices are starting to map out the interior as we speak."_

It was probably due to their distraction that the other paladins didn't notice it first. However, Shiro didn't miss the way the semi-melted tower leaned to the side and began collapsing under its own weight.

"Guys look out!" he cried, flying his Lion towards the ground again. He had to stop the debris from striking the Balmera.

 _"Wha-? Crap!"_ Hunk cried, flying underneath the tower before Shiro could and taking the brunt of the weapon's weight on his Lion. The Yellow Lion's paw thrusters ignited, giving him some leverage but nowhere near enough. _"We can't let this hurt the Balmera! Gah! Do something!"_

"Hang on Hunk," Shiro said. "I'm coming."

 _"Wait,"_ Lance said suddenly. _"Hunk, get out from under there. I think my Lion knows what to do."_

 _"Well whatever it is, do it fast,"_ Hunk shouted in a strained voice.

Shiro stopped abruptly when the Blue Lion flew directly in front of him, catching him off guard. "Lance-"

Whatever he was going to say trailed off when a ray of blue burst forth from the Blue Lion's open mouth and struck the collapsing tower Hunk was struggling to hold up. Immediately upon impact, ice began growing up over the tower's surface, encasing it completely. Hunk looked up and quickly flew away from the fast encroaching ice before it could consume him as well.

 _"Dude,"_ Hunk said.

 _"That was…"_ Keith murmured.

 _"I'm really starting to like this,"_ Lance said with an audible smile on his face.

"Nice going Lance," Shiro said.

 _"Yeah, whatever,"_ Pidge said, joining their group. She landed her Green Lion on the ice covered tower and looked up at her companions disdainfully. _"You guys have all the fun while I run the errands. Typical."_

Shiro chuckled. "Don't get too excited," he said, landing his Lion next to Pidge's. "We still have to deal with the Galra."

 _"Yeah, about that,"_ Pidge said. _"There aren't any Galra coming up here."_

 _"Where are they?"_ Lance wondered aloud.

 _"I don't get it,"_ Hunk said. _"When Coran and I were here, the Galra were everywhere."_

 _"Paladins"_ Allura called from the Castle. _"We've located a hanger with Galra fighters. We can't let them launch if we can avoid it."_

"They're luring us underground," Shiro grumbled. "We'll probably end up fighting hand-to-hand. I doubt our Lions will fit down there."

 _"Keith and I can take care of the hanger, Katie,"_ Lance said. _"By the way, that name totally suits you."_

The sound of Coran's sputtering laughter filtered through the communications.

 _"Don't volunteer me,"_ Keith groused.

 _"Why not?"_ Lance teased. _"Would you rather go with Pidge?"_

 _"Hey,"_ Pidge said. _"What's wrong with that?"_

"Guys," Shiro said, rolling his eyes. "Save the flirting for later."

 _"HA!"_ Pidge cackled. _"See? Shiro called it. It's official. You can't deny it."_

 _"Why would I?"_ Keith asked honestly. _"Lance is my mate. We can flirt if we wa-"_

 _"By Pele, stop,"_ Hunk groaned. _"Please just stop."_

"Lance, Keith, you two go take care of the fighters in the hanger," Shiro commanded. "Pidge, you and I will track down the Galra soldiers and get rid of them. Hunk, find your friend Shay-"

 _"Girlfriend,"_ Pidge teased.

 _"No!"_ Hunk said.

"-and make sure she and her family are safe," Shiro continued, raising his voice to be heard over the commotion. "Ask them how to perform this energy exchange process so we can start on that as soon as we can."

 _"You got it,"_ Hunk said, diving the Yellow Lion into one of the nearby mining pits.

The others quickly follow their given orders and Shiro breathed a sigh of relief. He would definitely have to give his team a talk about not goofing around while fighting. They couldn't afford distractions right now. He landed the Black Lion at the bottom of one of the mining shafts and prepared to continue the way on foot.

That was the plan. But then his chair slid back on the rails on its own and then dropped down into a hidden trap door at the far back of the room directly behind the Lion's cockpit. Shiro gripped his armrests in surprise and braced himself for whatever came next. When the chair stopped moving, Shiro found himself inside of a pod cockpit.

Surprised and intrigued, he leaned forward and examined the new set of controls. They were similar to the Black Lion's main controls but were missing some of the more elaborate commands and view screens. Speaking of view screens, Shiro blinked when all the lights in the pod came to life glowing the same purple he'd grown accustomed to.

Then the ground dropped out from beneath him and the pod fell from the Black Lion's chest to the Balmera's ground far below. Unfortunately, it took a couple seconds for Shiro's stomach to catch up to the fall. The dark roof and sides of the pod suddenly came to life, depicting the outside world. The whole thing was a view screen just like the Castleship's bridge. Shiro huffed, impressed.

He gripped the control rods and tested the vehicle's sensitivity and reaction time, smiling when the pod leapt forward. When he pulled far enough ahead, a flash of purple behind him caught his attention. He turned his head and looked out through the pod's view screens behind him and saw the Black Lion's particle barrier lift, protecting it from intruders.

The Black Lion rumbled in his mind and Shiro relaxed. It seemed the pod could keep the Black Lion's consciousness close to its paladin's even though they would be separated by space and the particle barrier. Good to know. A gridded map of the path ahead filled the view screens so he had a rough idea of what to expect from this path. Feeling ready for anything, Shiro pushed the control rods forward and sped down the tunnel directly in front of him.

* * *

Hunk ran down the tunnel as fast as his feet could carry him. He'd been forced to leave the Yellow Lion's pod behind when the tunnel got too narrow for it. The tunnel looked identical to all the others he'd seen so he had no real idea of where he was or where he was going, just that he needed to find Shay and her family. He was almost certain the Balmera was helping him now at this point.

However, even with the Balmera's help, Hunk had expected to run into at least a handful of Galra soldiers. He hadn't seen a single one so far and that bothered him. It was good, don't get him wrong, but it was also strange. The caverns were still and quiet except for the yellow paladin's footfalls and the occasional groaning of the Balmera.

A purplish light was faintly visible around the corner up ahead and Hunk picked up his pace, activating his bayard just in case. When he rounded the corner, he held his huge bayard gun up, ready to fire. But instead of Galra sentries, he saw a purple particle barrier acting as a prison door. It was just translucent enough that Hunk the see Balmerans on the other side. He didn't recognize them, but that didn't matter. They were prisoner that needed to be freed. That was all that was important.

Hunk raised his bayard and fired at the access panel, busting it into sparks bits. The purple barrier immediately dropped, startling the Balmerans inside. The paladin lowered his gun, deactivating his bayard, and smiled to the prisoners.

"Don't worry," he said. "It's okay. You're free. If you can, find the others and get to a safe pla- Hey!" he gasped, his smile growing larger. "You're Shay's family. Elder," he said, bowing his head respectfully.

The Elder stood from the earthen bench by the wall and stepped forward, looking the paladin over with sharp, old eyes. She smiled. "So," she said, her voice slightly hoarse, "you have kept your promise."

"Yes ma'am," Hunk said, smiling gently at the old Balmeran. "Coran and my friends are here with me. We're going to do the exchange as soon as we get rid of the Galra."

"Get rid of the Galra?" Shay's father gasped. "What you speak of is only a dream. It cannot come to pass."

"It will," Hunk said fiercely. "I made a promise to Shay to show you guys what freedom was. I'm not going to break that promise now."

"This one's words are true," said another voice from the back of the prison cell.

Hunk turned to the new speaker in surprise. "Rax?"

"These ones' lives may have been hard," Rax said, gesturing to his family, "but at least we were together. He stood from his seat in fury. "After you and the other one left, the Galra came for Shay. They took her to the core of the Balmera. We have not seen her since."

"Damn," Hunk muttered. He turned on his communicator. "Hey Shiro," he said, "we've got a problem."

 _"What is it Hunk?"_ the black paladin said. _"Are you alright?"_

"I'm fine, but Shay's not," the yellow paladin said. "The Galra captured her after Coran and I left the first time. Rax says they took her to the Balmera's core."

Shiro sighed. _"They're setting us up,"_ he said in frustration.

"We have to save her," Hunk said firmly.

 _"I know, Hunk,"_ Shiro said, soothing the yellow paladin's fears. _"I'm just trying to figure out how."_

"You think the princess will have any ideas?" Hunk asked.

He heard a gasp from the Balmerans and looked over to them worriedly. "You okay?" he asked.

The Elder held her large hands up to her mouth and her eyes were wide and full of awful wonder and didn't answer right away.

 _"I'll call her and ask,"_ Shiro said. _"In the meantime, get the Balmerans to safety. I'll tell Pidge to keep a lookout for the core. I doubt it'll hard to miss."_

"Right. Thanks Shiro," Hunk said, turning his communicator back to listen only. "I got my friends looking for Shay. We'll find her. I promise."

"You spoke of a princess," the Elder said.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. She's our leader, I guess," Hunk said. "Well, actually Shiro is the leader but she's the leader leader. Or, wait that doesn't make sense. She's the general to Shiro's commander, I guess."

"This one you speak of," the Elder said, her eye glittering in the low lighting, "is Altean, is that not so?"

"Yeah," Hunk said. "So's Coran and my friend we came here trying to save last time. I guess I told Shay, but not you guys. My bad, sorry," he said, rubbing his neck awkwardly.

"Shay did tell us," Shay's mother said, joining her husband and the Elder. "She said your friend was a prince."

"He is," Hunk said. "He's here on Balmera, actually. He's helping Keith, another friend of mine, take out the Galra fighters."

"Then this one recovered as you wished," Shay's father said.

"Why do you care about this one's friends?" Rax exclaimed, standing in fury. "This one has brought nothing but suffering to this family. It was better before this one came."

"And yet the Balmera trusted this one," the Elder said sternly. "I wish to meet this one's friends. If they are who this one says they are, then there is hope. Something which has been unknown in this place for many periods."

"Why do you insist on believing this one's shadow show?" Rax cried desperately. "The Galra have taken Shay from us now they will take all of us away."

"L-look," Hunk said, holding up his hands in a peaceful gesture, "you can talk about this all you want later. Right now you need to get somewhere safe while we save Shay."

"We will, paladin of Voltron," the Elder said gently. "We will gather our people and help as we can."

"What?" Rax gasped.

"Be silent, young one," the Elder said sharply. "Your words are spoken without understanding. It was your act of betrayal that had Shay captured, was it not?"

The young Balmeran stiffened and fell silent. The Elder returned her gaze to Hunk. "Go help the ones you call your friends," she said. "We will aid you when we can."

Hunk smiled. "Thanks ma'am," he said in relief. "You guys stay safe, you hear?"

He waited for an answering smile before activating his bayard again and running down the next tunnel towards the core. At least, he hoped it was towards the core. Balmera, please take him to the core.


	40. PART 2 - 40: Testing Boundaries

**A/N:** I am so tired. It's 12:40 am my time right now. Thank God I can sleep in till 10 am tomorrow morning. I'm going to need it. As usual, I'll edit this tomorrow. Enjoy y'all. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Lance tries Keithek's self-control, Shiro has bad news, and the Galra begin their attack. **  
**

* * *

 **40: Testing Boundaries  
**

"So, you have fire power."

Keithek flushed and continued walking through the tunnel before crouching at the cliff overlooking the hanger. There were at least fifty Galra fighters parked on the floor approximately seventeen spans below the cliff. The control tower was directly across from the paladin's hideout reachable by several metal beams that crossed the open span of the hanger. They were probably there to lend support to the Balmera's questionable foundation. Keithek hadn't missed the crumbling state of the Balmera's tunnels. He would wager they were on the borderline of safe at the moment.

"Keith."

He scanned the hanger for any sentries or Galra and counted only thirteen. That was an unusually low number of sentries protecting so many fighters. Normally there was twice that many. Something about this just felt wrong.

"Keith."

Well, between himself and Lance, Keithek was certain the sentries could be easily dispatched. He drew his bayard and activated it, pleased when the short, red and white sword materialized from the handle. The only problem would be getting down the side of the Balmera's walls. As long as he was climbing, he could only use the shield on his left forearm to defend if he was seen. Otherwise-

Cool arms slipped around his neck and something nuzzled his neck between his helmet and collar. He shivered when cold air brushed his skin.

"Keithek," Lance whispered.

The red paladin froze stiff, violet and gold eyes wide in shock. One of the blue paladin's hands slid down Keithek's armored chest, over to his arm, and down to cover his right hand. His bayard dropped from nerveless fingers as Lance wove their gloved fingers together.

"You're ignoring me," Lance murmured.

Keithek's ears twitched in where they were pressed against his hair under his helmet. Lance was holding him of his own volition. He had to take a deep, shaky breath to calm his alpha senses and slow his fast beating heart. Quiznack, this Altean would be the death of him.

"Lance," he hissed, perhaps a little breathlessly. "We are behind enemy lines."

"Really?" Lance asked, sounding ridiculously calm. "I had no idea."

Keithek twitched. "Don't push me," he warned.

"Is that a challenge?" Lance purred against his neck.

It took every ounce of self-control Keithek had to _not_ turn around, pin his mate to one of the tunnel's walls, and kiss him stupid. Now was not the time or the place for that. Later. Once they got back to the Castle, or the Lions' Keithek would be fine with it in the Lions. Whichever came first. Probably the Lions.

"You weren't planning on barging in there sword swinging with an almighty war cry like some crazed alpha, were you Keithek?" Lance asked, sounding like this whole thing wasn't affecting him at all.

Quiznack him.

"I… I _am_ and alpha," Keithek said. "Unless you have a better idea," he took a deep breath, "then that's all I've got."

Lance laughed softly and it did things to Keithek that were not suited for this situation. "I do have a better idea actually," Lance said, smiling. He used the fingers of the hand that remained over the red paladin's chest to lift Keithek's chin, turning it so they both looked at the control tower. "We break in there and close the hanger doors. With those closed, even if the Galra get to their fighters, they won't be able to do anything for a good while."

"That…" Keithek's blush darkened and he sulked. "That is a better idea, actually," he admitted reluctantly.

"I know," Lance sang happily.

The Altean stood slowly, drawing his hands over Keithek's armored body as he went until he was too far to maintain contact, despite the red paladin leaning not so subtly into the tough. Lance snickered and skipped away, pausing by the cliff.

"How good are you at hunting, Keith?" he asked.

Without waiting for an answer, Lance turned and hopped down from the cliff, landing lightly on the metal beam a couple spans below. Keithek scrambled to the cliff edge and stared at the prince's retreating back hungrily. Quiznack. It was going to be incredibly difficult to keep his distance and control his urges like he promised Coran if Lance kept teasing him like that.

* * *

 _"If you really see him as your mate, then he should be worth it."_

* * *

Keithek groaned as the advisor's words rang in his head. He would control himself, somehow. However, just because he would control his urges, that didn't mean he would allow Lance's challenge stand. How good was he at hunting, indeed. The alpha within him growled, begging to meet the challenge head on. Who was Keithek to deny himself that?

He picked up his deactivated bayard, stood, and leapt off the cliff, following the Altean prince across the beam towards the control tower. It took a few attempts to get inside the control tower. Keithek eventually decided to opt for the ventilation system as the best way to get inside the tower since the main door was inaccessible behind the Balmeran wall.

As he climbed through the vent tunnel, he heard the prince's laughter flutter up to his ears.

"So you really are good with tight spaces," Lance teased.

Keithek shook his head. "I know you're implying something, Lance," he grumbled. "And when I find out what it is, I'll rub it in your face."

Lance hummed. "I look forward to it," he said.

For some reason, Keithek suspected he'd once again walked into a joke he was oblivious to. He rolled his eyes in annoyance and continued forward until he reached the grate directly over the main room of the tower. He activated his bayard and easily sliced through the metal grate startling the Galra sentry below. However, before he could jump down, he was pushed aside and Lance jumped instead.

Keithek watched with wide eyes as the prince fall neatly through the opening and landed squarely on the sentry's head. But most impressive of all was when the prince braced his hands on the control panel the sentry had been standing by, leapt and spun around so he caught the sentry's neck between his ankles. A quick jerk and the robot's head snapped off, clunking to the ground next to the body.

"Are you coming or are you just going to sit up there gawking at my amazing skills?" Lance asked, throwing the halfbreed a sultry gaze, smiling unashamedly.

Damn. If Keithek hadn't been thoroughly screwed by the prince's kissing skills late last night in the Blue Lion, then there was no hope of recovery now. The red paladin swung his legs over the edge of the hole and dropped to the ground.

"Just so you know," he said, watching the prince tinker with the Galran technology which they both knew he could do nothing with. "You're trying my patience."

The prince glanced back at Keithek and lifted an eyebrow in amusement. "Am I?" he said. He pursed his lips in a mockery of sympathy. "I'm terribly sorry."

The grin the prince didn't bother fighting was anything but sorry and it made the red paladin's body pulse with warmth. His eyes followed the Altean prince's body closely. "You're doing this deliberately, aren't you?" he asked rhetorically.

"Maybe," Lance said, drawing out the word like the tease he was. "You said you were going to court me." He stopped trying to tamper with the Galran technology and turned to face the halfbreed, resting his lower back against the control panel. He smiled playfully. "Don't you know what that entails?"

Keithek deliberately did not look at the prince's hips, staring directly at Lance's eye. "Coran gave me a list of things commonly done during courting, yes," he said slowly.

The prince's smile grew. "He gave you a list," he said. "And did he tell you how I would respond?"

Keithek tilted his head uncertainly. "He said you would appreciate it," he said hesitantly.

Lance cackled. "'Appreciate,'" he crowed. "He said I'd 'appreciate' it. Well alright then." He calmed down and nodded to the panel behind him. "Close the hanger doors and I'll show you what Coran meant by me 'appreciating' your efforts. If you can, that is."

The red paladin's eyebrows twitched down in confused interest. Heaving a sigh at the prince's antics, he strolled up to the control panel and reached up to place his hand on the hand print when Lance suddenly stepped in front of him, blocking his view. Keithek glanced at Lance whose face remained unchanged, that teasing smile still playing on his lips.

Keithek tried again, this time reaching around the prince's other side, only for Lance to once again step in his way. Frustrated, the red paladin tried the other side again, and was again blocked by the prince.

He took a deep breath and stepped black, glaring at Lance in growing frustration. "You do realize we have a job to do," Keithek said.

Lance just shrugged. "Then do it."

Keithek growled and tried to reach around Lance to place his hand on the handprint again, only to be blocked by the prince's body once more. Annoyed, Keithek yanked Lance close to his body, pinning him there with his free hand so he could touch the panel and initiate the activation sequence for closing the hanger door. Lance hardly looked annoyed when the red paladin looked at him. In fact, the prince was grinning and tilting his head just like he had last night before-

A moment later, Lance was gone. Keithek looked down at his empty arms in surprise. He followed the flash of blue that ducked under his left arm then darted around behind him. When he turned around, the blue paladin was waving at him innocent as you please by the control tower's main doorway.

"You coming?" Lance called.

Keith turned around and looked out through the tower window to see the hanger door closing. Below, the Galra sentries were staring up at the door, probably wondering why they hadn't received a command to act. Several turned they weapons to the tower and began firing, shattering the glass and forcing the red paladin to duck.

He activated his bayard and slashed the control panel, ensuring it couldn't be used again and raced out of the tower with Lance by his side. The prince only paused to activate his bayard and blast the access pad into melted metal.

"You'll pay for that," Keith hissed at Lance.

The prince merely laughed and darted ahead.

 _"Keith, Lance, come in."_

"We hear you Shiro," Keith said. "What is it?"

 _"Did you get the hanger doors shut?"_

Keithek shot a glare at the carefree prince running next to him. "Eventually, yes," he grumbled.

 _"Eventually?"_ Shiro repeated in concern. _"What happened? Did you run into any Galra?"_

Keithek considered his answer. "Yes, but they were all sentries and the one we did meet directly has been destroyed."

 _"Good. We have a problem."_

The red paladin slowed down and pressed a hand to his communicator. He would have to do something about the placement of the speakers in his helmet. They didn't align precisely with his Galran ears so he couldn't hear everything clearly sometimes.

"What is it?" Keith asked.

"Is it Al-Katie?" Lance asked worriedly.

 _"No, it's Shay,"_ Shiro said. _"The Galra captured her and took her to the Balmera's core."_

"It's a trap," Lance said, frowning grimly.

 _"I know,"_ the black paladin said in resignation. _"But we can't leave her like that."_

"I agree, but-" Lance bit his lip and tried to think of something. "It would probably be best if we all didn't go. Someone should stay away in case the Galra spring their trap."

"I'm not letting you out of my sight," Keith said firmly, staring directly at the prince. "You may a tease of the highest order but you're also my mate and last time I left you alone, this happened." He brushed his fingers gently over Lance's bandaged eye, hating the way the Altean flinched away from his touch.

 _"Understood,"_ Shiro said. _"You two see if you can find the Balmerans and get them somewhere safe."_

"Where exactly is 'safe'?" Keithek muttered wryly.

" _Allura has an idea of how to do the energy exchange,"_ Shiro said. _"She's planning on going to the Balmera's surface to do it."_

"What?" Lance gasped. "She's crazy. She's can't be seen. The Galra can't find out she's still alive."

"I'm more concerned about the structural integrity of the Balmera than the princess at the moment," Keith said, studying the earthen walls and ceiling of the tunnel they stood in. "This tunnel is on the verge of collapse. So are some of the others we've gone through."

 _"You've noticed that too?"_ Shiro said. _"Lance, you're more familiar with the energy exchange process than we are. Do you think that could save the Balmera at this point?"_

The prince grimaced, his eye flickering up to Keithek's in a quiet answer that was clear and grim. "No," Lance said. "At this point, I doubt the Balmera will survive." He lifted his eye to the ceiling of the tunnel regretfully. "The most a typical energy exchange would do is heal the small wound created form harvesting a single crystal. To heal the entire Balmera…" He shook his head. "It would require too much energy. It would kill the person doing the ceremony."

 _"I was afraid of that,"_ Shiro said sadly. _"Lance, don't let her get carried away."_

"I'll do my best," Lance said. "I'll take her place if I have to."

 _"I'd rather you didn't. Just don't let her kill herself by accident."_

Lance smiled but it never reached his eye. "As I said, I'll do my best. Where's Hunk and Pidge?" he asked, changing the subject.

 _"Pidge is on her way to join Hunk. She's going to stay outside of the core while Hunk and I save Shay."_

"A backup in case you get trapped," Keith said, nodding. "Good thinking."

"We'll get as many Balmerans as we can to the surface," Keithek said. "It will probably be safer there than underground."

 _"Agreed,"_ Shiro said.

"We'll contact you when we can," Lance said. "Be safe."

 _"I'll do my best,"_ Shiro said and cut the communication.

"I don't like this," Lance said. "This is all too easy. It's almost as if the Galra knew we were coming here."

"I bet they did," Keithek said.

Lance gave him an odd look, then his face smoothed into cool fury. "The traders."

The red paladin tilted his head. "At this point, I think we can call them traitors instead of traders."

Lance shook his head and snickered. "Come on," he said, moving down the tunnel again.

"Don't think you're off the hook for that stunt you pulled back there," Keithek called.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Lance said, tossing one of his blink-wink things he did when he and Keithek first met. It brought a smile to the halfbreed's lips. Keithek would make Lance pay for teasing him.

Soon.

* * *

"Commander Prorok," the Galra said, approaching the commander and saluting respectfully. "I've received word from our troops on Balmera 95-Vox."

"Yes?" the commander said, not turning from the large windows overlooking the Galran Central Command.

"The Lions of Voltron have appeared, just as the informants said."

"At least they did one thing right," Prorok said, finally turning to his second in command. "Inform Subcommander Ylvik to begin their attack. If the Lions are there, then the Altean Castleship should be there as well."

"Do you want the Subcommander to attack the Lions or the Castle?" the Galra asked.

Commander Prorok considered his options before shrugging. "Have the commander send fighters to Balmera 95-Vox's surface. They will keep the Lions busy. In the meantime, have the battlecruiser focus their attacks on the Altean Castle."

"Yes sir," the Galra said. "What of the informants?"

"They betrayed us, did they not?" Prorok asked rhetorically. "By not appearing at the given coordinates, we can assume they either lied or their prisoner, if it really was the Champion, escaped. Either way, they did not inform us of the change in plans. Therefore, they cannot be trusted any further."

"Yes, commander," the Galra said, bowing his head in acknowledgement. "Shall I inform the Emperor of the attack?"

"No," the commander said, turning back the window. "I shall inform the Emperor myself. You have your duties, Thace. See to them."

"Vrepit sa," Thace said.

With one last salute, he turned on his heel and left the commander's quarters. It would suspicious if he didn't report Commander Prorok's orders to Subcommander Ylvik immediately. But perhaps he could manage a short encrypted message within the transmission to Ylvik. It would be tricky but doable. With any luck, the right ears would get his message and pass it on to the relevant ears.

When his informants first contacted him, Thace had feared the worst. Rolo and Nyma had explicit instructions to not contact him without warning unless it was an emergency. It turned out to be anything but. At least he'd convinced Commander Prorok that the traders were merely bounty hunters out for a prize and nothing more.

However, there was always the chance that someone else saw the transmission and suspected Thace's story. The Druid immediately came to mind. As long as Thace was based at Central Command, he would have to watch his step. With the Head Druid Haggar constantly at Emperor Zarkon's side, whispering in his ear, Thace was certain that anything the Druids saw or heard would find its way to Zarkon. The last thing Thace needed was to be caught now.

He'd worked too hard and too long to lose his position now. No member of the resistance had ever managed to achieve a position as high as he or as close to the Emperor himself. Thace didn't push his luck. He was satisfied serving under Commander Prorok. The Commander was a self-serving fool who would likely have devised his own demise had Thace not stepped in when he did. Even Zarkon was beginning to suspect Prorok valued his own glory over that of the Galra Empire.

Now anything Thace did that could be seen as traitorous, as long as it benefitted Commander Prorok, could be misconstrued as an attempt by Prorok to further his power and prestige. Within reason of course. Prorok may value his own importance, but he was loyal to Zarkon and the Galra Empire. The commander would never deliberately do something that would cripple the Empire or undermine the Emperor.

Thace didn't have long to concoct an encrypted message to weave into his transmission to Subcommander Ylvik. He had to prioritize what was most important for the resistance to know and figure out a way to weave that into is message.

Or…

Thace paused. Perhaps the resistance could wait. He doubted Rolo or Nyma were dead. They would find a way to tell the resistance what they had learned one way or another. He had to be patient. Maybe it would be best to put a less dangerous message into this transmission.

The last Thace heard, his son had been transferred from Subcommander Ylvik's fleet to Commander Sendak's. However, Commander Sendak had not been seen or heard from in the past few days. Considering the timing of Sendak's abrupt communication blackout and the appearance of the Lions of Voltron, Thace doubted it was a coincidence.

He just hoped his son hadn't met the same fate he suspected Commander Sendak had. He couldn't bear to lose what little remained of his family.


	41. PART 2 - 41: Fear

**A/N:** I am up at 12:50am. ...why...? I have school tomorrow morning. Quick thing y'all. I'm going on a trip to the mountains this weekend so I may not be able to update every night as usual due to possibly finicky Internet. Also, sorry I didn't update last night. My roommate broke her big toe, open wound directly over the fracture. YAY~

"I blame you. You said I have pretty feet, so the world said 'fuck you.' - my roommate to me literally just now. ^_^; **  
**

I'll edit this seriously tomorrow when I'm awake.

 **Chapter summary:** In which Pidge discovers a new toy, Team Voltron takes the bait, and Allura is Lance's biggest weakness.

* * *

 **41: Fear  
**

 _"Pidge! What's your ETA to the core?"_

"Not sure, Shiro," the green paladin said.

 _"Just a teck or two more,"_ Allura supplied from the Castleship.

"No Galra on the radar?" Pidge asked.

 _"I…Radar?"_

"BLIP Tech," Pidge clarified with an eye roll. "Are there any Galra on the BLIP Tech?"

 _"Oh. No,"_ Allura said. _"None that I can see."_

 _"This just doesn't make any sense,"_ Shiro said. _"How on earth did the Galra know we were coming here?"_

 _"Rolo,"_ Hun said, joining the group's communications. _"I bet those losers told Zarkon we were coming."_

"As much as I hate to admit it," Pidge said, edging her way down the Balmera's tunnels, "I think I have to agree with Hunk."

 _"Why is that a bad thing?"_ Hunk asked.

"Because I was halfway hoping those guys weren't that bad," Pidge said.

 _"Is this you talking or your technophilia talking?"_

"Are they really separate things?" Pidge teased.

 _"Touche,"_ Hunk said after a moment.

Pidge snickered, then fell abruptly silent when she heard soft footsteps up ahead. "Hey Katie," she whispered urgently, drawing her bayard and activating it just in case. "You said there weren't any Galra ahead, right?"

 _"Yes,"_ the princess confirmed. _"Why?"_

"'Cause someone's in front of me and if it isn't a Galra, I need to know what it is," Pidge said, pressing herself against the Balmera's earthen wall. "Like ASAP."

 _"Alright, hold on."_

The footsteps continued to get closer. Pidge couldn't tell from the sound what or who they belonged to, but she somehow knew it wasn't one of team and she trusted Allura declaration that it wasn't a Galra. Could it be a Balmeran, maybe?

Hesitantly, Pidge held her bayard at the ready and waited until the footsteps were close enough that she could attack if she had to. There were multiple people, but they didn't have the distinctive metallic clank of Galran sentries. They also sounded lighter than an adult's footfalls. Or at least they did from what Pidge could remember. What if they were kids? Did Balmerans have kids? Or did they just spring up out of holes in the ground?

 _"Pidge! Don't attack!"_ Allura cried loud enough to make the green paladin wince. _"They're Balmerans."_

Huh. Well, what do you know? Pidge lowered her weapon and stepped around the corner and was surprised to see honest to God rock people. Considering they were short and skittish, Pidge assumed they were children, three of them to be exact. She hesitantly raised the hand that wasn't holding her bayard and waved.

"Hey," she said. "Don't be afraid."

The leader of the group was holding a lantern with a tiny flame that cast meager shadows on the Balmera's walls. It stepped forward slowly, its yellow eyes gleaming in open wonder. As far as Pidge knew, she could be the first human the Balmeran child had ever seen.

"We need to get you to the surface," Pidge said. "Can you spread the word?"

"Leave?" the Balmeran asked. It sounded female. "These ones have never seen the surface before."

"Well you have to right now," Pidge said seriously. "It's too dangerous down here."

The Balmeran shook her head. "We cannot leave our home," it said.

"Look," Pidge said, preparing to argue.

She never got the chance to say her piece. A loud moaning sound echoed through the tunnel, vibrating the walls and ceiling like an earthquake. Pidge instinctively braced herself against the wall of the tunnel but the Balmeran children turned to flee. However, in their haste, one of the Balmerans kicked the lantern, dropping it and falling when the hot glass burned their hands.

Pidge watched in horror as a large piece of the ceiling shook loose and began to show signs of collapse directly onto the injured Balmeran. She quickly pushed away from the tunnel wall and raced towards the Balmeran as fast as she could. Too slow.

A familiar purr invaded her mind, startling her, just as she received a sudden burst of speed catapulting her forward. She snatched the fallen Balmeran as she passed over it, carried by whatever had given her that extra push. She landed in a crouch with the other Balmerans just as the ceiling they had just stood under collapsed in a cave in, effectively blocking their exit.

The Green Lion rumbled in her mind again and a green holographic view screen materialized above her left gauntlet. A sketch of what looked like a jet pack was flashing on the screen. Intrigued, Pidge twisted her head back as far as she could and tried to get a good look at the back of her armor.

 _"Pidge? Pidge, are you alright?"_ the princess cried in concern. _"What was that?"_

"Katie?" the green paladin called over her communicator. "Do I have a jet pack?"

 _"Oh. Yes, I suppose I forgot to tell you. You all have jet packs,"_ Allura said. She sounded somewhat flustered from her slip.

 _"They're optimized for use in the vacuum of space,"_ Coran explained helpfully. _"However, they can be used in short bursts while on a planet's surface. It simply requires more power than usual and is incapable for abrupt changes in speed and direction."_

"Okay," Pidge said. "Can the Lions use our equipment?"

 _"I…Why?"_ Allura asked in cautious interest.

"'Cause I think the Green Lion just turned on my jet pack and saved my life and the Balmeran children's," Pidge said.

 _"That's incredible,"_ Allura said. _"I can honestly say I've never heard of that happening before. But the Lions will protect their chosen paladins if they can. The bond between you is strong and deep."_

 _"Still, to have a confirmed case of such an extraordinary event occurring is truly amazing,"_ Coran exclaimed, ever the scientist. _"We should document that as soon as you return to the Castle."_

Pidge snickered. "I'll help as best I can," she said.

"To whom are you speaking?" the Balmeran still in Pidge's arms asked curiously.

"Ah, sorry 'bout that," Pidge said, releasing the small Balmeran. "I was taking to my friend. You need to get out of here. Get as many of your people as you can to the surface. These tunnels aren't safe."

"The Balmera is our home," the child said, gazing at the green paladin with wide, pleading eyes.

"And it'll continue to be if we can save it," Pidge said, trying to reassure the children. "But I want you to be safe in the meantime. Please, can you spread the word?"

After a moment, the leader of the Balmeran children nodded. "We will tell the others of your words," they said.

"Thanks," Pidge said with a smile.

Then she stood and hurried down the tunnel. It didn't occur to her to ask for directions until she was too far to turn back without risking getting lost. All of the tunnels looked alike in this semi-darkness.

* * *

Okay, he was certain of it now. The Balmera was definitely helping his get here. As far as Hunk was aware, he hadn't known where he was going and yet he still got here without having to turn around. He just turned corners but here he was staring at the doors directly ahead.

"You're sure the core is just behind those doors?" he asked.

 _"I'm positive Hunk,"_ the princess said.

Hunk shook his head in relieved disbelief. The doors were probably strong and reinforced. He drew his bayard and activated it. He hoped he could use the enormous gun as a battering ram. If not, then maybe his bayard could be repaired. Could bayards be repaired?

He braced his bayard against his chest, checked to be sure there were no Galra guarding the door, and ran forward as fast as he could. However, instead of meeting the resistance of solid metal, he met nothing but air. The doors simply opened for him. He had to skid to a stop before running right over a cliff that had to be about ten feet high.

Caught off guard, Hunk lowered his bayard and looked around the room. It was a large cavern with a huge structure shaped like an oversized pitcher plant in the center of the room. The structure glowed a warm red gold that pulsed almost like a heartbeat. Well if this was the core of the Balmera, then it made sense if that structure was indeed the Balmera's heart.

Something moved in front of the Balmera's heart and Hunk almost dropped his bayard when he realized who it was. "Shay!" he cried.

He immediately climbed down the cliff, raised his bayard, and fired a single shot at the glowing purple cord that held his friend dangling from the ceiling. Her muffled scream was all Hunk could focus on as he dropped his bayard and ran forward to catch Shay before she hit the ground.

He just barely managed it. Hunk was a polite soul but the Balmeran female was about as heavy as a boulder. His arms hurt, but he grinned anyway.

"Hunk!"

"Shiro!" Hunk cried, gratefully setting Shay on her feet and looking up at his friend. Shiro stood another cliff after running through another set of doors identical to those the yellow paladin had just run through. "You made it."

"Looks like you got here before I did though," the black paladin said. He gave the Balmeran a casual salute. "You must be Shay. I'm Shiro. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Shay removed the gag the Galra had placed over her mouth as quickly as she could. "You must leave with haste," she said.

"Shiro!" another voice called from yet another door.

"Pidge is that you?" Hunk hollered.

"Yeah," the green paladin called back. "I'm not coming in though. Like Shiro said, someone's got to stay outside just in case.

"You must all leave at once," Shay said again. "This is a trap set by the Galra to lure you here. I was the bait."

No sooner had the words left her mouth did all of the doors slam shut, locking Shiro, Hunk, and Shay inside and Pidge outside.

 _"Shit!"_ Pidge shouted. _"Guys! Are you okay?"_

"Yeah," Shiro said, staring at the door he'd just run through for a weakness. "Are there any Galra soldiers at there?"

 _"No, none,"_ Pidge said.

"They probably thought we'd all come in here," the black paladin said, muttering a soft curse.

 _"I heard that Space Dad,"_ Pidge teased.

Shiro groaned. "Now's not the time, Pidge. Right now, we need to get out of here."

"Hey pri-Katie," Hunk said. "Think you can get us out of here? We could use a little help."

 _"What's she supposed to do from orbit, Hunk?"_ Pidge said sarcastically.

"I don't know," the yellow paladin said. "But I had to ask, right? I maybe they could beam us out?"

 _"We're a bit busy at the moment,"_ the princess said. Her voice sounded strained and the signal was full of static; or was that background noise.

"What's going on up there?" Shiro demanded, sounding worried. "Are you and Coran alright?"

 _"We're taking heavy fire,"_ the advisor said in clipped tones. _"Looks like the Galra found us."_

"They're up there?" Shiro gasped. "But then why… Damn! They're after the Lions!"

 _"Shit!"_ Pidge shouted.

"We have to get to the Lions," Shiro said.

 _"But I don't' get it,"_ Pidge said frantically. _"How did the Galra even know we would come here?"_

"I'll give you one guess," Hunk said scowling.

"Rolo and Nyma," Shiro growled, clenching his fists.

Shiro turned back to the doors and activated his Druid-enhanced arm, slashing at the metal. Surprisingly, it didn't give right away. That meant these doors were thick and likely triple reinforced.

"Damn it," he muttered. "We need to get back to Allura."

 _"We're coming Katie,"_ Pidge said. _"Shiro and Hunk are trapped in the Balmera's core with Shay. I'm trying to get them out."_

 _"Well hurry beca- Wait. Coran, what is that?"_ the princess demanded.

 _"Something's locked onto us,"_ Coran said, sounding frantic.

 _"What is it? Oh frak."_

"What is it?" Shiro demanded. "Princess please answer me. What is it? What locked on to you?"

 _"I-It's a Galra battlecruiser."_ Allura sounded subdued and horrified. _"The particle barrier can't withstand a direct hit from a battlecruiser's ion canon at its current state."_

"What about Lance and Keith?" Hunk asked. "They're still outside the core helping the Balmeran's to the surface."

"Good idea," Shiro said. "Pidge, can you contact Lance and Keith?"

 _"I can try,"_ Pidge said. _"Why haven't they answered already though? Isn't this thing basically a party line type thing?"_

"My guess is it can be turned on and off," Hunk said, picking up his fallen bayard. "Or it could be interference of some kind."

"Perhaps I can aid you," Shay offered, startling the paladins silent. She placed her hand on the Balmera's heart and closed her eyes. "This is how we communicate. The Balmera feels out vibrations and sends the message to the others."

 _"So what? Like Morse code or something?"_ Pidge asked.

"Sounds like it," Shiro said. Louder, he said, "Give it a try. Try to tell your friends to get Lance and Keith to their Lions and help Princess Allura."

"I shall try," Shay said and concentrated.

The Balmera's heart underneath Shay's hand began to glow a soft gold and a sad, beautiful sound filled the core chamber.

 _"Is that the Balmera?"_ Pidge asked quietly, almost reverently.

"Yeah," Hunk said just as quietly. "Yeah it is."

 _"Wow,"_ she whispered. _"It so beautiful."_

The moaning song sounded much like the song of humpback whales from Earth: sad, solemn, breathtaking, and soft. The paladins could only stand in silent awe as the song continued to flow from the Balmera spreading Shay's message. Hopefully, it wouldn't reach the blue and red paladins too late. The song rippled through the air for a full minute at least unbroken before the Balmera began to shake.

 _"Another earthquake?"_ Pidge gasped.

The sound of metal groaning and crunching from pressure startled the paladins who all turned to the doors to the Balmera's core. As they watched, the Balmera's walls moved, crushing the Galran doors until the metal gave way, revealing open pathways to escape.

"Wha… How… Shay," Hunk asked, turning to his friend in awe. "Did you do this?"

Shay stepped back from the Balmera's heart and offered the yellow paladin a gentle smile. "Not I. She did this," Shay said, lifting her gaze reverently to the Balmera's heart. "I request my people to relay your message to the others. But I also requested they help you escape to save your princess."

"Thank you Shay," Shiro said, throwing a heartfelt smile the Balmeran's way. "We're in your debt. Now hurry and get to the surface. These tunnels aren't safe. Pidge, Hunk, get to your Lions."

 _"Yes sir."_

Without another word, Shiro climbed through the newly made opening and fled down the tunnel.

* * *

Keith danced through the Galra sentries with a deadly grace that Lance helplessly admired. From his position above the Galran-made rafters, Lance had a decent bird's eye view of the makeshift battlefield. Whenever a Galran sentry got too close to the red paladin for comfort, he shot it. His aim was still off due to his questionable depth perception, but he was still a good shot.

"Shoot _them!_ Not me!" Keith shouted as he dodged a bolt of blue plasma.

Well, the prince thought, a fairly good shot. Lance bit his lip in amusement at Keith's annoyance and continue to take out as many sentries as he could. It was just their luck that they would stumble upon the only battalion of sentries inside the Balmera. Naturally.

"Whatever you say dearest," Lance called, smirking at the disgruntled look Keith shot his way.

The only reason Keith and Lance had stopped to fight this many sentries at all was because they were blocking the way to their Lions as well as the escape route for the Balmerans. The paladins' Lions were parked in the large mining shafts which were littered with ladders and trails leading up to the surface. The Balmerans would have to climb up the mining shaft to escape and Keith and Lance needed to get to their Lions.

Lance fired a shot at a particularly daring Galra sentry that slipped past Keith's guard, and missed. Fear jolted the prince into action. He scrambled to his feet and dropped to the ground below just in time to knock the sentry's gun away with his bayard. He planted his booted foot on the sentry's chest and pushed.

The force of the push knocked him back so his back connected with Keith's. He smirked. "Supporting me already?" he teased.

Keith didn't bother to answer Lance, not that the prince expected a reply. He was pretty sure he knew the red paladin was rolling his eyes. Lance continued to blast what sentries he could while keeping his back to Keith. They were in a fairly small cavern just short of the Blue Lion's location. There wasn't much room for grand gestures so they had to watch their footwork to be sure they didn't get stuck facing the cavern's walls.

Suddenly, a beautiful, moaning song filled the cavern. The sentries and the paladins paused in their fighting to stare warily at their surroundings. The Balmerans they had been leading appeared surprised, but they did not stand and look around in confusion. They all either placed their hands to the cavern walls and floor. Golden light blossomed from where their hands touched the Balmera, illuminating the cavern.

The Galra turned their weapons on the Balmerans forcing Keith and Lance to activated their arm shields and deflect the shots.

"Whatever you guys are doing, I suggest you hurry it up," Keith called to the Balmerans.

While Lance wouldn't say it out loud, he agreed with the red paladin completely. As long as the Galra were focusing their attacks on the defenseless Balmerans, the paladin were forced to defend only. If one of them tried to attack, then some of the sentries' attacks broke through their defense resulting in a pained cry from one of the Balmerans.

The ground began shaking. At first, it was just a gentle rocking but quickly became a violent quaking. The shaking was so intense, that both Keith and Lance staggered and lost their balance. Pebbles fell from the ceiling followed by whole sections of the stone above them crushing the Galra sentries below. However, not one stone fell on the paladins or the Balmerans.

Lance stared at the devastation in awe. The Balmera had saved them. This magnificent creature that valued life and peace had destroyed the robotic sentries to save the lives of its children and two strangers. The poor thing probably knew its time was running short and chose to use what little of its strength remained to protect. It broke his heart.

"What the quiznack?" Keith whispered in shock.

"We bring word from those ones with Shay," one of the Balmeran refugees said, drawing both paladin's attention. She was an old crone compared to the Balmerans around her but from the way she held herself and the difference shown to her by her companions, she was highly respected. "They say the ones called Lance and Keith should go to their Lions and aid one Princess Allura," the old Balmeran continued.

"Allura?" Lance breathed. "Allura!" He turned on his communicator and shouted into the speak, "Allura! Are you alright? What's wrong? Allu-"

 _"Lance."_ She sounded terrified.

"Allura, what is it? You have to tell me," he demanded. "What's happening?"

 _"T-There's a battlecruiser in front of us,"_ Allura's voice was shaking. _"The particle barrier won't hold. Lance?"_ Her next words were soft, barely even audible. But they sent fear fueled adrenaline surging through the prince's body, jolting him into action.

"I'm here," Lance said, getting to his feet. "I'm here. I'm almost to my Lion. Just hang on."

Without waiting for Keith or anything else, Lance got to his feet and began climbing over the fallen earthen and mechanical debris.

 _"Lance, can you hear me?"_ Shiro called, interrupting Lance and Allura's communication. _"Are you to your Lion yet?"_

"Not now, Shiro," Lance said sharply. "Keith, get to your Lion. We need to leave now."

"What about the Balmerans?" Keith gasped.

"They can climb out," Lance said, jumping down to the floor on the other side of the debris pile. "We have to form Voltron now!"

In which Pidge discovers a new toy, Team Voltron takes the bait, and Lance must be Allura's Sentinel, not matter what the cost.

 _"I don't want to die."_


	42. PART 2 - 42: White Hot Destruction

**A/N:** Just in case I can't update tomorrow night or the next, I'm uploading this chapter to tide y'all over. Hope you enjoy.

BTW, my roommate is doing much better. She's figured out how to walk without causing much pain (it's this cute little waddle), and she's still wearing that goofy boot. But I'm driving for our trip tomorrow so she can sleep and relax. She's also not a morning person so it's probably for the best that I'm driving. You know, considering we're leaving at 6am local time. ^^; Smoky Mountains Ho!

 **EDIT:** I swear I posted this last night. Weird. Sorry about that. ^^;

 **Chapter summary:** In which Lance is silent, Shiro takes command, the Allura uses a weapon of terrible power, and the Galra still aren't through with Team Voltron. **  
**

* * *

 **42: White Hot Destruction  
**

Shiro blinked at the prince's unusually sharp reply. As far as the black paladin could remember, Lance had never said anything in such a cold, curt tone except when he argued with his sister in 'private' that one time. He was always polite and courteous, if a bit outrageous and flirtatious.

"Keith, what's going on?" he asked, trying an alternative to contacting Lance again. "Is Lance alright?"

 _"I don't know,"_ was the red paladin's reply. _"He called Allura. Whatever she told him made him freak out. He ran ahead to his Lion leaving me and the Balmerans behind."_

"He left the Balmerans alone?" Shiro gasped. That was definitely not like Lance. "Are they alright? Where are you right now?"

 _"I'm about to get into the Red Lion,"_ Keith said. _"The Blue Lion's already in fli- Fraking quiznack!"_

"Keith!"

Shiro stopped talking when his speeder pod burst out into the mining shaft where he'd left the Black Lion. He was horrified to see several Galran fighters hijacking the Black Lion with their tractor beams. Thankfully, the Black Lion had kept its particle barrier up so they couldn't directly access it. But that also made it impossible for Shiro to reach the Black Lion. Especially now that the Lion was hovering at least a good a fifteen or so above the ground. Or so he thought.

Before he could slow down, the pod began speeding up without is input. Frantically trying to slow down, Shiro pulled back on the controls. Nothing happened. The next moment, the pod was rising from the ground, up through a small opening in the Black Lion's particle barrier, and back into the Lion's small chest hanger. Shiro barely had a chance to marvel at the sudden change in location when the roof slid open above him and his pilot seat lifted up to the floor above and slid down a track into the Black Lion's cockpit.

The Lion made a sound that Shiro suspected was a laugh at his shock. The Lion's amusement eased his nerves and he gripped the controls confidently. Immediately, the Lion's particle barrier disappeared and Shiro flew up out of the shaft into the sky. Pidge's Green Lion and Hunk's Yellow Lion swiftly joined him followed closely by Keith's Red Lion. Lance's Blue Lion wasn't visible until Shiro looked up. The Blue Lion was streaking through the sky directly at the Galra battlecruiser that was currently facing off with the Castle of Lions.

"Guys! Get to the Castle quick!" he commanded, forcing the Black Lion into a steep climb. "Lance! Lance come back. We can form Voltron and stop this!"

No response.

"Lance!" Shiro called again. "Lance, help us form Voltron. We'll have a better chance of defending the Castle that way."

 _"Lance!"_ Keith called over the same channel. _"Lance listen to me!"_

 _"Lance, stop!"_ Hunk shouted.

 _"He's insane!"_ Pidge cried.

To Shiro's horror, Lance ignored all of their calls and flew the Blue Lion straight at the Galra battlecruiser. Shiro pushed the throttles as far forward as he could. But the moment he saw the tell-tale purple glow of the ion canon powering up, he knew he wouldn't make it in time. He could only watch in sick fascination as the Castle's particle barrier shrank so it only covered the bow of the Castleship in an oval shape.

Shiro knew the princess had probably focused the full force of the particle barrier directly in front of the Castle in the hopes it would have a better chance of absorbing the ion canon's blast. It was a last ditch effort and everyone knew it.

"We have to get to that battleship," he said. "Everyone, push hard. We may not be able to stop the ion canon from firing, but we may be able to knock it off target."

 _"Gotcha,"_ Hunk said. _"I'll take the lead. My Lion can take the brunt of the impact."_

"No Hunk," Shiro said. "We're in this together. We'll hit that ship with everything we've got."

 _"Aim for the furthest point on the bow,"_ Keith supplied. _"Galra battlecruisers are heavier and bulkier in the back."_

"Good idea," Shiro said, adjusting his trajectory accordingly.

 _"Everyone get close,"_ Pidge said. _"If we focus our force in a smaller area, the impact should be greater."_

"Alright, you heard the lady," Shiro said. "Close formation now!"

The four Lions formed a tight circle and turned on the equivalent of their afterburners. The resulting boost in thrust shot them upwards. Ahead, the Blue Lion struck the Galra battlecruiser and fired its thrusters at full power, trying to budge the ship upwards.

"Lance, hang on," Shiro called to the prince, hoping his message got through. "We're coming."

Before the words even finished leaving his mouth, the ion canon fired filling the sky with a terrible purple glow that heralded nothing but destruction. The beam of solid energy struck the Castle's failing particle barrier at full power. The Castle shuddered under the attack. Shiro grit his teeth and braced himself for impact.

They hit the battlecruiser at top speed. The force of the abrupt stop threw the black paladin out of his seat and straight into dashboard. Then he was no longer in control, the Black Lion was. A rush of air like the wind in the mountains of his childhood home filled his mind accompanied by the loud, ear-piercing sound of metal scraping against metal.

He opened his eyes and shook his head to shake off the wooziness. The view screen in front of him showed the Black Lion's claws ripping into the battlecruiser's hull as the Lion continued to push the ship upwards with all its might. Shiro gasped when his ribs protested his sudden attempt to push himself up and get back into his seat. He would have to look into getting seat belts for the Lions' pilot seats. This just wasn't safe.

A wry growl rumbled in the cockpit and inside Shiro's mind, comforting him and apologizing for the pain. The black paladin smiled. "Don't worry about it," he said aloud. "It wasn't your fault."

He blinked in surprise when he realized he'd just spoken aloud, but his smile didn't fade. Instead, he chuckled and grabbed the controls once more.

"Behind you all the way, buddy," he said, smirking at the proud roar the Black Lion sent him.

 _"Is it working?"_ " he heard Hunk asked through his cockpit speaker. _"Did we save the Castle?"_

 _"Paladins!"_ Allura voice shouted over the speakers. _"Get out of there now!"_

Shiro immediately pulled back on the throttles, pushing away from the Galra battlecruiser. As the Black Lion fell back, Shiro's view of the scene became more clear. He and his fellow paladins had succeeded in knocking the battlecruiser upward, forcing the Castle of Lions out of the ion canon's targeting range. He heaved a sigh in relief.

"We did it," he breathed, laughing helplessly. He slumped back in his chair and kept laughing breathlessly. "Oh my god, we did it."

 _"Holy **shit!** "_

At Pidge's cry, Shiro bolted forward to grab his controls again, only to freeze and stare up at the sky in awe. The Castle's particle barrier vanished making his heart stutter. But in its place, the Castle fired a beam of pure, brilliant white that rivaled the light of the Earth's sun. It was virgin starlight with all the power of a neutron star and deadly accuracy of blazar. It dazzled Shiro's eyes, forcing him to blink as spots speckled his vision from the shear brightness.

In response to its paladin's discomfort, the Black Lion added a light filter to the main view screen dimming the brilliance of the Castle's attack. Shiro whispered a quick thank you and opened his eyes again. He watched as the beam of starlight struck the Galra battlecruiser, piercing right through it like a straw through water. The resulting eruption of white engulfed the entire sky, overpowering the Black Lion's light filter. Shiro looked away again and squeezed his eyes shut, seeing the light through his eyelids as a reddish glow.

Then he felt his body be abruptly compressed as a shock wave struck the Black Lion, knocking it briefly out of sync with the air stream. The Lion dropped several yards before Shiro recovered it, just in time to see the entire sky erupt in flame and noise. He could barely believe his eyes.

 _"They're gone,"_ Keith whispered, his voice soft in shock. _"That… They're all gone."_

 _"The Castle took out an entire battlecruiser and Galra fleet in one shot,"_ Hunk said in amazed disbelief.

 _"Talk about a one hit K.O.,"_ Pidge said, trying to process what she'd just seen

"Woah," was all Shiro could say.

He knew about weapons of mass destruction. He'd seen some of them in action. But this… It sent shudders through his system. He sincerely hoped the Castle wouldn't have to use that weapon again if they could avoid it. That kind of thing was a last resort weapon only.

 _"Allura!"_

Shiro jolted out of his thoughts when Lance's frantic voice rang over the open channel. _"Allura answer me,"_ Lance demanded _. "Are you alright? Allura!"_

 _"Lance!"_ the princess said sounding winded and shaken. _"Lance I… I had to. I had to. I'm sorry. I had to."_

 _"It's alright,"_ Lance said quickly, flying the Blue Lion up to the Castleship. _"You had to. You had to survive. You had to live. It's okay. It's okay."_

 _"No it's not!"_ Allura cried. _"I promised I wouldn't… But then I… Oh quiznack. I didn't want to die."_

 _"You did **nothing** wrong, Allura,"_ the prince said fiercely. _"Coran, watch Allura. I'm coming."_

 _"Um, guys?"_ Pidge interrupted. _"Sorry to break up the sibling bonding time, but what the fuck is that?"_

"What is what Pidge?" Shiro asked, scanning the maps on his view screens for anything unusual. He noticed something flashing Galra purple and turned the Black Lion towards the bogie.

 _"Is that another battlecruiser?"_ Hunk asked nervously.

 _"It looks more like an asteroid,"_ Pidge.

 _"No,"_ Keith said, his tone dark. _"It's one of the Druid's monstrosities."_

 _"Another one?"_ Hunk gasped.

 _"Goddamn it,"_ Pidge cursed. _"How many of those damn things do the Galra even have?"_

 _"It doesn't matter how many they have right now,"_ the red paladin said grimly. _"What matters is that they can make more when they need to."_

"That's not go-"

 _"It's going to hit the Balmera!"_ Hunk cried seconds before the Galran device struck the Balmera's surface, shattering the ground beneath it without regard for the creature's health.

"Everyone," Shiro said, taking charge. "Form Voltron. We may be able to stop this thing before it can get out of that case."

 _"Yeah,"_ Pidge said. _"And if it's anything like the first one we fought, then we can take it."_

 _"It won't be,"_ Keith said. _"They're never the same thing twice."_

"Form Voltron now," Shiro said. "We'll worry about this thing's characteristics after."

 _"Understood,"_ the paladins said.

The rush of power from his Lion struck Shiro like a hurricane blast. But it didn't hurt. In fact, it exhilarated him. He felt strong and powerful and proud. He was the Black Lion's paladin and the Black Lion was his. They belonged to each other. The Black Lion would accept no other.

The Black Lion's roar was like a drug rushing through his veins. Shiro couldn't get enough of it. It was fresh and smelled faintly of home. The power that thundered into him like a flap of a dragon's wing was everything Shiro needed. It was perfect.

When he opened his eyes, he knew Voltron had been formed. He could feel the other Lions at the edges of his senses. The wild, untamed elements of fire and water on his right and the solidarity of the earth and forest to his left while he was the mighty wind of a tornado at the head. Together they were Voltron. He could feel his fellow paladins' rippling agreement like whispers on a gentle breeze. They were in this together.

As a team, the paladins watch the giant metal box burst apart revealing the ghastly Robeast within. It was drastically different from the first Robeast they fought as Team Voltron. This one was tall and slender with long, flat appendages for arms. Numerous raised half spheres speckled the Robeast's appendages and at least two were situated on the monster's head on a track. They were probably intended to be the equivalent of eyeballs, but were too abhorrent to be considered anything remotely organic.

After a moment of eerie silence, the orbs on the Robeast's body began glowing a disturbing, radioactive green. The monstrosity raised its appendages wide as if to take flight and blasted Voltron with green beams originating from the half spheres all over its body.

 _"Holy shit!"_ Pidge shouted.

"Look out!" Shiro cried.

He followed the instructions the Black Lion fed to him through their link and the shield made of the Black Lion's wings formed in the Green Lion's jaw-fist. He felt Keith use his bayard to create the Red Lion's sword in Voltron's other jaw-fist. If the paladins could get close enough, then they could try to destroy the Robeast's eye blasters.

Unfortunately, they couldn't get close. Every time they moved, they were hit by green rays that pushed them back like a gust of wind. It was too much power for Voltron to handle. Shiro could feel the other Lions shuddering as they tried to hold formation. Voltron was a single huge target for all of the Robeasts guns. So why be a single target when they could be five, smaller, faster targets?

"Alright, I hate to say this, but we have to break up," Shiro said.

 _"I'm seriously trying not to make a snide remark about us not even dating in the first place,"_ Pidge said, her voice strained over the speakers. _"But I'll leave that for Lance."_

 _"What the quiznack is that supposed to mean?"_ the prince snapped, sounding just as strained as the green paladin.

"Enough!" Shiro snapped. "Break up now!"

Just as another wave of green rays blazed across the expanse between the Robeast and Voltron, the Lions separated and darted out of the way.

"Guerilla tactics everyone," the black paladin commanded. "Attack, dodge, evade. Go!"

 _"Roger,"_ Hunk said, dodging to the left.

 _"10-4,"_ Pidge shouted, diving her Lion to the right.

 _"What the quiznak is a 'guerilla tactic'?"_ Keith shouted frantically, swerving around the green beams.

Lance wasn't much better, barely managing to avoid the Robeasts attacks. Shiro shook his head and grit his teeth. He mentally swore that the next time they had down time, he was going to sit Keith and all of the Alteans down and explain Earth battle tactics, lingo, the whole shebang. This ridiculous miscommunication thing was turning into a nightmare on the battlefield.

* * *

Rolo was slammed into another wall of invisible electricity, shrieking as the volts jolted through his unprepared body. His extremities were tingling and he was most definitely _not_ happy. When the violent shuddering began, Rolo had suspected it was on purpose. But when the alarms began blaring, he realized it wasn't.

He'd managed to get back to Nyma through the maze and together they staggered through the many pathways. They had taken to throwing his hat and jacket in front of them to test for invisible electric walls. The tactic was working so far, until the shuddering began. Another ferocious tremor struck the ship and Rolo was flung forward. He braced himself for another electrocution, but nothing happened.

He landed on the floor by the wall alive and not electrocuted. Hesitantly, he pushed himself up and looked behind him. Nyma was on her hands and knees staring at him in shocked hope. She quickly scrambled across the floor towards Rolo who caught her in his arms. She wasn't electrocuted. She was fine. _They_ were fine. Did they make it?

Without stopping to consider that thought, Rolo stood and spun around looking for the door out of the arena. The instant he noticed it, he snagged his partner's hand and together they raced towards it. Nothing happened.

They _had_ made it.

A small Galra hoverbot darted in front of him forcing him to skid to a stop. The little hoverbot glowed green and beeped. Rolo cursed his luck. It was Pidge's hoverbot Rover. Nyma stepped up next to him, standing by him as an equal. Rolo narrowed his eyes and adopted a defensive stance.

"Look," he said. "We just want to get out of here. We won't leave the ship, but we don't want to be electrocuted anymore. That's torture."

The hoverbot made no noise. It just flashed twice and turned around, flying through the air to the door. When it reached the portal, it turned so its camera eye looked back at Rolo as if to say, "Are you coming?"

A faint smile touched the trader's lips and he hurried to the door. He was insanely relieved when the door slid open easily for him. He looked back at the hoverbot and smiled. "Thanks man," he said gratefully.

He stepped out into the hallway and turned left. He stopped and turned around when Nyma tugged on his arm. She thrust his jacket and hat into his hands and pointed to the hoverbot.

"I think it wants us to go that way," she said.

Sure enough, the hoverbot was flashing and darting back and forth across the hall in the opposite direction Rolo had been heading. He couldn't hear the hoverbot beeping over the blaring alarms, but he trusted his partner.

"Alright," he said, shrugging on his favorite jacket and slapping his hat back on haphazardly. "Might as well."

He and Nyma followed Rover down the hall towards a lift. When they entered the lift, the hoverbot bumped its body into one of the buttons on the wall panel sending then rocketing up through the lift tube. When the doors slid open, Rover flew out and waited for Rolo and Nyma to step out as well.

It promptly darted to the left, pausing to turn back every now and then to make sure the traders were following it. It was amusing to see such a personality in a simple Galran hoverbot. Who knew? Then again, maybe the personality was a result of Pidge's technical expertise. He didn't get the chance to dwell on that intriguing though for long because when he turned the corner, he could think of nothing but the huge Galra battlecruiser filling the view screens of the Castleship's bridge.

He felt his heart drop when the terrifying purple of the infamously destructive ion canon zoomed towards the bridge. He was going to die. Nyma was going to die. They'd escaped that invisible electric maze only to watch the tool of their demise approach them with deadly speed and accuracy.

However, an instant before the ion canon's blast struck the Castleship, it struck an obviously thin particle barrier. Red warning lights flashed and the alarms took on a more desperate tone. Standing in the middle of the horrible image of devastation and loss was the tall, slender figure of Allura.

The young woman was shaking with fear but her hands were clenched on the twin control columns by her hips. She was holding the particle barrier in place, Rolo realized with dreadful understanding. He looked back up at the view screens and gulped, pulling Nyma to his chest. If they were going to die, he would be quiznacked if they died separated.

The alerts stopped flashing and the alarms eased their terrified wail. Nyma lifted her head cautiously and gasped. Rolo followed his partner's gaze and was astonished when he saw five colorful lions literally pushing the battlecruiser up so the ion canon was out of firing range.

Allura was still shaking but her voice was loud and brave, even if it wavered ever so slightly. "Paladins! Get out of there now!" Allura shouted desperately. "Coran, full power to the blasters," she commanded.

"Locked onto target," the man Rolo didn't recognize shouted back from the front of the bridge.

The view screen in front of Allura lit up with the targeting visualization. When it flashed bright blue and rang a single, steady tone, she thrust her hand forward and shouted, "Fire!"

The target visualization changed abruptly to red and the view screens filled with white light. Rolo couldn't ever remember seeing anything so beautiful or so terrifying before in his life. The only thing he could remotely compare to this was a quasar. It was blinded him.

When he could finally see again, he only saw fire and destruction. Nothing was left of the Galra battlecruiser and the fighters that had surrounded it. They were completely, and utterly obliterated.


	43. PART 2 - 43: Cold of Separation

**A/N:** Sorry I didn't update last night. I was exhausted. I did get half of this chapter written though. But I was at a Sleep Study and they cut off the WiFi at 10pm and made us go to sleep then so I couldn't finish writing and post. So I finished today and am posting now. ^_^

I had a great trip to the Smoky Mountains National Park. The first day we had a family of 4 (YES 4!) black bears wander up to out cabin and the daddy bear tried to climb onto the deck. My dad had to grab several pots and pans and slam them together while screaming to chase them away. Talk about scary. Gatlinburg, TN, has seriously changed for the worst since I was last there I think. It's a tourist trap now where it didn't used to be. The mountains and trails are still gorgeous though. Definitely worth the trip. ^_^

Enough rambling though. On to the chapter~ **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Thace takes a risk, Allura makes a deal, and Hunk brings out the big guns. **  
**

* * *

 **43: Cold of Separation**

He couldn't believe it. The reports were still coming in sporadically, but every one of them agreed that Subcommander Ylvik's battlecruiser and fleet had been defeated. Several reports claimed a single, white ship had fired the blast that obliterated the fleet. Thace found that hard to believe, but the evidence was right in front of him.

He leaned back and considered his options. Commander Prorok was currently reporting his choice to attack the Lions at Balmera 95-Vox to Emperor Zarkon. Interrupting that discussion could be disastrous. Then again, it would also humiliate the commander and further ingrain in the emperor's mind that Prorok was nothing but a self-important leader. Also, to not report this failed attack to the emperor as quickly as possible would put suspicion on Thace. That was not something Thace could afford.

Thus it was with great reluctance that he placed his hand on the communicator and spoke the words that would likely break any confidence the emperor had in Commander Prorok.

"Commander Prorok," Thace said urgently. "I've received word from the fleet at Balmera 95-Vox. Subcommander Ylvik and his fleet have been defeated."

 _"What?"_ the commander cried.

"There were no survivors except for the small scout skip in orbit monitoring the situation," Thace continued.

 _"How is this possible?"_ Prorok demanded.

"I am not sure yet," Thace answered honestly. "The reports are confusing. They say it was a single weapon that decimated the entire fleet in one shot."

 _"That…Such a weapon exists?"_

 _"You are a fool, Prorok."_

Thace stiffened when he heard the emperor's voice through the communicator. He had done his best to avoid direct contact with Zarkon because he wasn't entirely sure if his true intentions could remain hidden from that gaze for long. Especially so long as that Druid Haggar continued to slink in Emperor Zarkon's shadow.

 _"You underestimated the power of Voltron,"_ Zarkon continued. _"Galra."_

Thace waited a moment before realizing the emperor had been addressing him. "Y-yes great Emperor," he said, bowing his head instinctively.

 _"This weapon, from what was it fired?"_

Thace quickly double checked his information before reporting his findings. "The reports say the blast originated from a single, large, white ship in low orbit."

 _"Ah,"_ Zarkon purred, sending the fur on the back of Thace's neck standing up. _"The Castle of Lions. It seems we can confirm Commander Sendak has failed to bring me the prince and the Castle like he promised. Pity."_

Thace swallowed nervously but continued to listen.

 _"This weapon, what else can you tell me about it Galra?"_ the emperor asked.

"It was white, my Emperor," Thace said, scanning through the reports once more. "The scout ship said it lost all visual contact with the fleet after a beam of white light struck Subcommander Ylvik's battlecruiser. When the flames dissipated, there was nothing left of the fleet."

Zarkon hummed thoughtfully. _"So,"_ he said softly, _"they used that weapon."_ He chuckled. _"I wasn't sure the prince had that in him. I look forward to meeting him in person. That should be a most enlightening discussion."_

Thace sincerely doubted the 'light' part.

 _"Galra,"_ the emperor spoke again. _"What is your name?"_

"Subcommander Thace, great Emperor," Thace replied.

 _"You have done well reporting this news so quickly,"_ Zarkon said. _"Inform the scout ship to withdraw for now. I will have Haggar send her latest experiment to deal with this mess."_ The emperor's voice trailed away in disgust and Thace was once again relieved he was not in Commander Prorok's place.

"As you command, my Emperor," Thace said and quickly cut off the communication.

He took a moment to calm his nerves before contacting the scout ship to relay the emperor's orders. It seemed another one of the Druids Robeasts would be used. Better that than sending Prince Lotor though. At least with a Robeast, this Voltron may have a chance at victory. Hopefully.

He attached a short burst to his longer message which would only register as interference to the Galra scout ship. However, to the right ears, it would appear as an encrypted message to the rebellion.

* * *

 _"Okay, I feel stupid,"_ Pidge muttered, swerving her Green Lion into another loop to avoid a spray of green rays of evil.

 _"Join the club,"_ Hunk said.

 _"This isn't working,"_ Keith grunted in annoyance, narrowly dodging yet another beam of green energy. _"We can't keep this up for much longer. I may a great pilot but I've never fought something that can shoot me from every single direction."_

 _"There's not much more we can do at this point,"_ Shiro said reluctantly.

 _"Paladins,"_ Coran's voice interrupted. _"We need to evacuate the Balmerans as soon as possible."_

 _"What are you talking about Coran?"_ Pidge asked.

Lance blinked, trying to clear his vision.

 _"We're trying to land on the Balmera but I don't think there's anything we can do about it at this point,"_ the advisor said gravely. _"The Balmera is dying. If we don't start the evacuation as soon as possible, then anyone left on the Balmera will die."_

"What?" Lance gasped. "What do you mean?"

 _"I'm sorry,"_ Coran said with regret. _"Even if we did perform the energy exchange now, I doubt it would do anything."_

 _"We **have** to do it,"_ Hunk said. _"We promised Shay. We have to at least try."_

Lance hung his head in despair. "It won't make a difference, Hunk," he said.

 _"We have to try Lance,"_ the yellow paladin snapped. _"If your planet was still alive and there was even the slightest chance of saving it, wouldn't you try?"_

 _"Hunk!"_ Shiro said sharply. _"That's enough."_

 _"No."_ Lance sat up when he heard his sister's voice. _"Hunk is right. We will go through with the energy exchange."_

"It won't do anything," Lance pleaded. "All it will do is weaken you. You heard Coran. The amount of energy the Balmera would need to survive this is more than either of us can give."

 _"I have to try, brother,"_ Allura said. _"I'm sorry."_

Lance closed his eye and hung his head. He was tired, much too tired. He took a deep breath. "Then I'll come help you," he said finally.

 _"No,"_ Allura said, startling him. _"I need you to help the paladins keep that monster away from the Castle."_

"I am not leaving you alone," Lance said fiercely.

 _"You won't be,"_ Allura said gently. _"I'll come down first in a space jump to alert the Balmerans. Coran will follow with the Castle and we'll begin the evacuation while I perform the exchange."_

"Allu-"

 _"Dude, no,"_ Hunk said. _"What is with you aliens and space jumps?"_

 _"Hey,"_ Keith said. _"I've never done a space jump before. I value my life, thank you very much."_

 _"Yeah, well last time Lance did it, the Galra captured him,"_ Hunk said.

Lance flushed despite himself. "And I met Keith because of it," he said, "so I wouldn't necessarily call that a loss, would you?"

 _"Guys!"_ Shiro shouted, pouncing the Black Lion on the Robeast's back and scraping its teeth against the metal head. _"Princess, we'll cover you. Just hurry. The rest of you, provoke and evade."_

 _"We **have** been provoking and evading,"_ Pidge groused.

 _"The problem is we're really, really good at the provoking part and really, really sucky at the evading part,"_ Hunk supplied.

Lance sighed. He was so tired.

 _"Lance,"_ Allura said. _"Are you alright?"_

No. "I'm fine," he said aloud. "I'm just a bit tired from all this."

 _"Lance-"_

"It's okay, A-Katie," he said, catching his slip. "I'll meet you on the ground when I can."

 _"Alright,"_ his sister said finally.

 _"You guys are insane!"_ a new voice exclaimed.

 _"Woah, woah, woah!"_ Pidge cried. _"Since when were Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum freed?"_

 _"Who the heck is Twiddle- whatever it was you said?"_ Keith asked.

 _"I hope you have a good reason for this princess,"_ Shiro said sternly.

 _"Yeah,"_ Pidge grumbled. _"Whatever. They get off Scott free while the rest of us will be out here trying to take on a giant robotic monster with no blind spot. Don't worry about us. We're fine."_

Lance moaned.

* * *

"Coran, get the Castle down to the Balmera," Allura said, stepping down from the control platform. "I'll meet you on the surface. You two," she said, turning to Rolo and Nyma, "what are you doing on the bridge?"

Nyma pointed to the repurposed Galra hoverbot still floating beside them. "It took us here," she said. "The maze was electrocuting us."

Allura's face twisted in confusion. "Well, yes, it's supposed to…" Her eyes widened in horrified understanding, her hands darting up to cover her mouth. "Oh quiznack. I'm so sorry." She rushed up to the traders and began looking them over for any injuries. "I'm so sorry. That was never my intent. Are both of you alright?"

"We're fine," Rolo said, holding up his hands to fend off Allura's search. "That- Rover got us out."

Allura turned to the flashing hoverbot and patted the metal body fondly. "Thank you Rover," she said. "You did well."

To Nyma's surprise, the little hoverbot beeped and spun around in what she thought was excitement. The personality this robot displayed was truly amazing.

"What was that?" Rolo asked, grounding Nyma back in the subject at hand. "That weapon you fired, it destroyed everything. What kind of weapon was that?"

The woman in front of them withdrew her hand and gave a shaky sigh, her eyes shining wetly. "Something I should never have used," she said softly. "Excuse me."

When Allura tried to push past Nyma, the female trader stopped her. "Look," Nyma said sternly, "I've never heard of a weapon with even remotely the same kind of power as that."

"I hope to the Lions that you never do," Allura said grimly. "I shouldn't have used it. I- I just…" Tears brimmed her eyes and she looked away. "Coran," she called abruptly, "ready the space jump airlock."

"Ready on your mark, princess," Coran answered promptly.

"Thank you," she said. She took a deep breath through her nose and met Nyma's eyes evenly. "As long as I'm piloting this ship, that weapon will never be used again if I can avoid it," she said firmly.

"What if you can't avoid it?" Nyma pressed.

"I won't let that happen," Allura said.

There was a fear in her eyes that Nyma recognized. Allura was terrified of that weapon. Nyma had watched this pilot arm and fire that weapon with a firm finality that chilled her to the bone. But then she'd seen Allura collapse to her knees and fight back tears as she pleaded for forgiveness from her brother over the comms.

Allura was a leader who was mostly untested. Nyma was sure this wasn't Allura's first battle as a commander, but she would bet this was the pilot's first time making such a life-altering decision. If Allura planned on facing off against the Galra like the rebellion, then Nyma was certain there would be even harder decisions to make before any real impact could be felt.

"You're optimistic," Nyma said. "I was that way once. Both Rolo and I were."

"What changed?" Allura asked hesitantly.

Nyma shrugged. "I saw what the Galra were capable of," she said simply. "Why else do you think Rolo and I ended up this way?"

Allura furrowed her eyebrows, but didn't press the issue. Some secrets were better left secrets. "If you want," she said slowly, "you and Rolo can join me on the Balmera's surface. If you can help Coran evacuate the Balmerans to the Castle while I perform the energy exchange, that would be greatly appreciated."

"How many are we talking about?" Rolo asked.

"The entire population," Allura said. "If I can't heal the Balmera, then we have to save as many as we can before it collapses, crushing everyone still on or in the ground to death."

Rolo paled but nodded. "Alright," he said. "We'll do what we can." He crossed his arms. "But I expect payment for services rendered."

"What?" Coran gasped. "You would put a price on saving people's lives?"

Allura, however, narrowed her eyes at Rolo, then smirked. "We'll discuss the price after said service is rendered," she said. "You can't expect me to pay you for more than what you did."

"Or less," Rolo added.

"Or less," Allura agreed. "Help us, then we'll pay you."

Nyma glanced at her partner and nodded. "We accept your deal," she said.

"Good," Allura said. "Coran, let Rolo and Nyma help with the evacuations in any way they can. I'll see you all on the surface."

* * *

 _"What is that meteor thing?"_ Pidge gasped.

Hunk looked down through his Lion's view screen and felt fear lance through him. A small, metallic object his Lion highlighted was streaking through the sky towards a large mine shaft. The Castleship followed, landing directly beside a large mine shaft.

"I think that's Allura," Hunk said, fighting back the urge to throw up from the high anxiety.

 _"She's space jumping,"_ Lance said, sounding tired and worn out.

"Hey, Lance?" Hunk called in concern. "You alright? You don't sound too good."

 _"I'm fine,"_ Lance said. _"Just tired."_

 _"Lance, you need to stay sharp,"_ Shiro said. _"One wrong move and that Robeast will destroy you."_

 _"I know,"_ the prince said. _"It's nothing serious, trust me. I'll get over it in an hour or so."_

"We don't have an hour!" Hunk cried, swerving abruptly to the left and diving to avoid a green beam that blazed too close to his Lion for comfort. "Did you get hit? What's wrong, man?"

 _"It really isn't serious,"_ Lance said, flying his Lion around an earthen growth from the Balmera that may have been an arch before the creature became so deathly ill. _"I'm just drained. Stop focusing on me and focus on this monster. We can **not** let it hurt Allura or the Castle."_

"Or the Balmerans," Hunk said.

 _"Right,"_ Lance said, forcing his Lion to pounce on the Robeast from behind, narrowly avoiding a green beam to the gut as he did so. _"Or them."_

 _"Lance,"_ Keith said. _"Even your sister asked if you were alright. I don't buy this 'not serious' story your shoving at us."_

 _"Look,"_ Lance said, with growing annoyance. _"We can deal with me and my definitely not serious situation **after** we take care of the monster that's literally blowing the Balmera apart." _

_"Lance is right,"_ Shiro said. _"Getting rid of the Robeast is our main priority right now."_

 _"Yeah, that'd be a lot easier if we could just shoot out all of its eyes at once,"_ Pidge grumbled.

Hunk gripped his controls and grit his teeth when he felt his Lion make a rumbling growl in his mind. The next moment, the yellow machinery on the right of the Lion's cockpit shifted, catching his attention. The yellow paladin stared at the glowing slot on his right. It was the perfect fit for his bayard which, speak of the devil, materialized from his armored this. He still hadn't figured out how that happened, by the way.

"Um, guys?" Hunk said. "I think my Lion is trying to do something."

 _"What do you mean?"_ Shiro asked.

"I… A slot thing just appeared. I think I'm supposed to use my bayard," Hunk said.

 _"That's what my Lion did when it wanted me to form the sword when we were together as Voltron,"_ Keith said. _"Shiro, if his Lion is doing that, then we should form Voltron and see what happens."_

 _"I agree,"_ Shiro said. _"Okay guys, let's try this again."_

"Form thingy!" Hunk shouted, thrusting his bayard into the Yellow Lion's slot. "Nothing's happening."

 _"That's because we haven't formed Voltron yet,"_ Shiro said.

"Oh, right. I knew that."

 _"Form Voltron!"_ the Black paladin shouted.

The comforting strength of the earth enveloped the yellow paladin, reassuring him that he was not alone. The Yellow Lion was with him and would stay with him for as long as Hunk lived. The feeling brought a smile to Hunk's face. They had formed Voltron. This time, when the slot opened on Hunk's right, the yellow bayard fit and a mountain of power formed in Voltron's arms.

 _"Woah,"_ Shiro murmured in surprise.

 _"Dude,"_ Pidge said chuckling. _"Nice gun."_

"Oh yeah!" Hunk cheered. "We rock!"

 _"Great, we got a gun,"_ Keith said. _"So shoot that thing already before it destroys the Castle!"_

"What?"

The Robeast had lifted its arms and was coalescing its power to fire a single, huge beam of green death at the Castleship.

"Shiro!" Hunk cried. "Fire!"

The black paladin made Voltron raise the enormous gun and fired a blast of turquoise energy directly at the Robeast, striking it and knocking it back. However, the distracted monster simply turned its green fury on Voltron, firing a blazing beam at them. Hunk held on when Shiro fired again, but the rumbling growl in his mind told him they wouldn't be able to hold out much longer.

 _"Damn it!"_ Shiro shouted in frustration. _"It's not enough."_

"Then I guess we'll have to try something else," Hunk said, pulling back on his controls like the Lion told him to do. He was surprised to see Voltron step back and deflect the Robeast's attack up and to the side, narrowly missing the Castle's main tower.

 _"That was too close!"_ Pidge shouted.

Hunk and Lance powered Voltron into the sky, dodging the endless beams of green as they went. There was nowhere to go. They couldn't leave Allura and Coran and the Balmerans. They had to fight. They just couldn't fight effectively with so little room to move. The moment they focused on attacking, the Robeast attacked forcing them to defend instead.

Shiro spun Voltron around so they faced their quarry still hovering close to the Balmera's surface. Then something strange happened. The yellow tinted view screen in Hunk's cockpit formed a targeting symbol over the Robeast. It zoomed in so the robot was fully visible with its arms out, charging up for its next attack. Smaller targeting circles appeared over each green 'eye' on both of the Robeast's arms, its chest, and its head.

"Guys," Hunk said, "are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

 _"Oh yeah,"_ Keith said, sounding excited. _"Let's blow this thing back to the void where it belongs."_

 _"I'm right behind you there,"_ Shiro said. _"Hang on everyone. Fire!"_

Streams of white burst forth from the yellow gun, zipping down towards the Robeast in no obvious pattern. Despite their apparent chaos, every single stream struck an 'eye' on the Robeast until the robot sparks and seized, slumping to the ground.

"Did it work?" Hunk asked after several seconds of nothing.

 _"I-I think so,"_ Shiro said, sounding pleasantly surprised.

Hunk looked out his view screens and began laughing. "We did it," he said breathlessly. "Guys, we did it!"

 _"Oh yeah!"_ Pidge cheered. _"Nice going with the gun, Hunk."_

"Thanks," Hunk said, smiling broadly. "You're such a good Lion," he said, petting the Yellow Lion's cockpit dashboard fondly. "Yes you are. Yes you are. You're a good Lion."

 _"Are you talking to the Lion like a kitten?"_ Pidge asked incredulously.

"Hey, the Lion's sentient," Hunk argued, "and it deserves just as much credit for that gun thing as I do, probably more."

The Yellow Lion purred in Hunk's mind and the paladin got the distinct feeling that the Lion was trying to mentally nuzzle him. It brought a warm fuzzy feeling to Hunk who continued his adorably ministrations. Because he was so focused on his Lion's mental presence, Hunk noticed the moment the Yellow Lion's attention drifted. Curious, Hunk leaned forward in the cockpit to see out the corner of his view screen.

"Woah," he breathed. "That is cool."

 _"What?"_ Shiro asked.

"You guys don't see that?" Hunk asked. "I mean, I'm assuming the Castle is supposed to glow like that, right? Lance?"

 _"What is she doing?"_ Lance murmured.

 _"Lance?"_ Keith asked.

 _"Hey, is that Ro-thing still moving?"_ Pidge asked.

 _"Wha-?"_ Shiro began.

 _"ALLURA! STOP!"_

"Lance! Wait! What are you-"

Hunk held on to his control as Voltron shuddered around him. He heard the Yellow Lion roar in pain as something pulled at them. His Lion's pain was translated to its paladin causing Hunk to cry out in pain. It felt like something was being ripped from them. He could hear his fellow paladins screaming too.

The sound of metal screeching against metal filled Hunk's ears followed by what felt and sounded like a rock slide. Then the power Hunk had grown to accept as a side effect of forming Voltron left him leaving him shaking and gasping from the suddenness of it. It felt like he'd woken suddenly from a dream of falling off a cliff. His adrenaline rushed through his body, his heart pounded in his chest, and his palms were sweating profusely. What-


	44. PART 2 - 44: Defeat that Froze Hope

**A/N:** Hope this is ok. Sorry it's 12:40am instead of midnight. But hey, I can still call it 'tonight' because I haven't slept yet. ^_^ Technicalities make the world go 'round.

Quick thing:  
 _:Words.:_ \- is mental speech, not to be confused with  
 _"Words."_ \- which is talk over a communicator **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Allura gives a damning order, Lance can't be her Sentinel, and Team Voltron loses. **  
**

* * *

 **44: Defeat that Froze Hope**

Allura waited until the targeting symbols on her helmet's view screen flashed red. Then she folded her legs and activated the sequence that slowed the jumper down so she could land safely at the base of the mine shaft. It was dark down here, but enough light filtered down from the opening above that she could see several tunnels branching out from the mine shaft. Some were at the base of the shaft and others were higher up the walls crisscrossed by metal beams that probably served as support beams and makeshift bridges.

Movement to her right caught her attention and she turned towards it. A fairly large group of Balmerans were gathered at the entrance to one of the tunnels. Beyond them was a pile of rubble and the remains of what appeared to be Galra sentries.

"Are you alight?" she called making her way over to the Balmerans slowly so as not to alarm them. "My name is Allura. I'm with the paladins of Voltron. We need to get you to the surface as quickly as possible."

"You are friends with Hunk?" one of the female Balmerans said, her yellow eyes widening in the darkness. "I am called Shay."

"It's so good to finally meet you Shay," Allura said, taking the Balmeran's large hand in both of her own. "Hunk has told me much about you."

"Any friend of Hunk's is a friend of ours," an old Balmeran said, stepping forward from the group.

Allura smile gratefully before remembering her purpose for coming. "Please," she said urgently. "You must make your way to the surface of the Balmera. I'm going to perform the energy exchange, but if it doesn't work then my Castle is waiting to start evacuating as many of you as possible."

Shay pulled her hand away and turned to her people, bowing her head. "We cannot go with you," she said sadly. "We have spoken to the others and have all agreed. The Balmera is our home. We cannot leave it. If She dies, then we are ready to die with her."

"No," Allura whispered in horror. "No, you mustn't! Please. I understand the loss of your world. My home planet was also lost. My people, my… There are only three people left of my race including myself. Upon our deaths, Alteans will be no more. But we won't stop fighting! You can't give up. Not when there's a chance left."

"Then it is true," the wizened Balmeran said, stepping up to Allura. Her eyes were old but sharp and clear. "You are the princess Hunk spoke of."

"I am," Allura nodded. "Yes."

The elder gazed down at Allura's feet and smiled gently, humming. "Then tell our people yourself," she said. "Let your words, your emotions carry to our people."

Allura furrowed her brows in confusion. "How?" she asked. "I'm not Balmeran. I can't-"

"But you can," the elder said, gesturing to the ground beneath the princess's feet. "You are."

Allura looked down and was awestruck by a soft aura emanating from the ground itself. Perhaps the Balmera sensed she was Altean and was trying to help her. Tears blurred her eyes. The magnificent creature knew it was dying was still wished to save those that called it home. Allura knelt and placed both of her hands on the Balmera and called out with her mind.

 _:Hear me,:_ she said. _:I am Princess Allura of Altea and I have come to fulfill an oath made by my people in my stead. I will do all I can to heal the Balmera. But should I fail in this endeavor, please come to the surface.:_

"They can hear me?" she asked out loud, lifting her gaze to the Balmerans.

The elder smiled and placed a large hand on the princess's helmet and knelt so her gnarled knees rested on the ground. "Yes, young one," she said. "We can hear you."

Allura took a deep breath and bowed her head, closing her eyes and focusing on the message she wished to communicate.

 _:Do not let the death of your beloved world mean your deaths as well,:_ she pleaded. _:My world, my home planet no longer exists. It was destroyed by the Galra long ago, but I and my brother and advisor live on. We are the last of our race. When we die, the Alteans will be no more.:_

Tears leaked from her closed eyes and fell to the ground below as a wave of emotion she had struggled to keep at bay bubbled to the surface. _:Please, do not give up,:_ she said. _:You all deserve the chance to live. Don't let the Galra win now. Not now that you can be free. Please.:_ she sobbed. _:Don't disappear.:_

Strong arms with skin like leather scales wrapped around Allura's shoulders, holding her gently as the princess wept.

"Your words have touched our hearts," the elder whispered to the princess in her embrace. "We will go to the surface and aid you in the exchange ceremony. We may not succeed, but it will give the others a chance to join us and escape."

Allura drew strength from the elder's comforting presence. "I… I have done something that I…"

"Hush child," the elder murmured. "I will listen after you accomplish your goal."

Nodding, Allura sat back and gathered herself, controlling her emotions as she was taught during her studies as a diplomat. But no matter how hard she tried, she would always be an Altean. Her emotions were strong and the desire to hide them went against everything her people stood for. She wanted so badly to weep for her lost home, her family, her everything. At least she still had Lance and Coran.

She couldn't fathom how Coran was doing so well. She had yet to see her advisor mourn or cry at all and that disturbed her. Lance had begun to lash out as he dealt with his sadness. But even he had begun to hide himself from her. They were all she had left. She would not leave them.

Just like she wouldn't leave these people to suffer the same fate as her people did. The Balmera would not die. She would not let it.

"Coran, can you hear me?" she called.

 _"Loud and clear, princess,"_ her advisor answered. _"I'm landing the Castle now."_

"Good," Allura said looking up. Sure enough, the Castle of Lions was slowly settling near the rim of the mine shaft she currently stood in. "Rolo, Nyma, are you there?"

 _"You bet,"_ Rolo said. _"A deal's a deal, after all."_

The princess grinned. "Then take one of the pods and help ferry as many of the Balmerans as you can to the surface."

 _"Will do,"_ Rolo said. _"Be down in a few ticks."_

"Thank you," Allura said. "I'll fly back up and prepare for the energy exchange."

 _"Princess,"_ Coran said gently. _"I know I'm just your advisor, but I have to ask. Are you sure about this? I… You and Lance are all I have left now. I honestly don't know what I would do if-"_

"Coran," Allura said, cutting him of before he could voice that fear. "I'll be fine. I promise. Just one thing, and pass this on to Rolo and Nyma as well, if you would."

 _"Anything, princess.'_

"Don't let Lance help me," she commanded.

* * *

Coran whirled around when he heard the horrible screech of metal scraping against metal. The sight that greeted him was alarming to say the least. His jaw dropped open as he watched the legendary defender shudder and contort as the Blue Lion that current served as Voltron's right leg struggled to break free of the unification. It was Lance.

"What the quiznack is going on!" Nyma cried, staring up at Voltron.

"It's Lance," Coran said, fighting past his horror. "Lance is Allura's Sentinel. Other races called the position Watcher, Guardian, Keeper, any number of things."

"And this is important why!?" Rolo demanded.

"Remember what I told you?" the advisor said, facing Rolo and Nyma directly. "No matter what happens, do not let Lance near Allura. Do whatever you have to short of killing to keep Lance away. We cannot allow him to get close to the princess."

"Yeah, I remember," Nyma said, dropping to a defensive crouch when the Blue Lion broke free scattering Voltron into the five separate Lion. "But there had better be some serious explaining going on after this."

"Agreed," Rolo said, backing Nyma up. "I signed up to help evacuate refugees. Not fight against a giant robot lion while some girl heals a Balmera with a beam of light. Who makes flying lions anyway?"

Coran ignored the remake in favor of watching the Blue Lion take flight, only to turn in mid-air and land on the ground facing the Castle and the small team of defenders. The Lion roared as its pridemates stumbled away from the spot where Voltron had been in unsteady movements.

Rolo cursed. And Nyma gave a cry of surprise when the Lion lowered its head and opened it mouth so its pilot could escape the cockpit. Coran braced himself when he saw Lance tumble out of the Blue Lion, scramble to his feet, and run across the space separating him from his sister.

"Allura!" Lance screamed.

Coran waited until Lance got close before diving at the blue paladin. Not expecting to be stopped, Lance didn't react fast enough to dodge the advisor's arms. Coran managed to wrap his arms around the prince's stomach but could barely keep his grip on the boy. Lance was wiry and knew how to handle his body. Thankfully, Nyma kicked Lance's feet out from under him and Rolo grabbed one of Lance's arms and pinned it behind the prince's back.

Unfortunately, during the struggle Lance somehow yanked Coran around so he faced the princess for the first time since she began the energy exchange. Bathed in the pale blue-tinted white light from the ship and surrounded by Shay and her family, Princess Allura glowed like a star. She was beautiful and powerful. Coran prayed to the Lions that she survived this.

"Allura!" Lance screamed. "Allura stop! Please. Don't do this. It'll take more than you can give. You die!"

Coran fought back his tears as he held the prince tighter. He couldn't lose these two children. They were all he had left. They were his family in everything but blood. He'd lost his own family and his dearest friend in the Great War. He couldn't lose Allura or Lance now. He would heed the princess's command. But he doubted Lance would survive long if she died. Then Keith would follow his mate one way or another leaving Coran alone with three humans from a world he'd never heard of before and an incomplete Voltron. There would be no hope left.

These children were his hope.

"Don't leave me!" Lance cried between tears. "I don't want to be alone. Don't leave me alone!"

Coran watched the aura surrounding the princess intensify. It took him a moment to realize the new light was coming from Lance. "Quiznack,' he cursed. "He's resonating."

"He's what?" Nyma demanded from where she was holding the prince's legs in place so he couldn't get up and try to run.

"You mean like an instrument?" Rolo asked over the prince's screams.

Coran managed a nod as he held on to the prince with all his strength. "It's part of being the Sentinel," he gasped. "The Sentinel always knows when the Heir is in danger. They can give their own quintessence to the Heir to use as they please."

"The frak is 'quintessence'?" Rolo demanded. "And why is he glowing?!"

"I just said-"

"Ugh, _men!"_ Nyma cried.

Without another word, she pushed herself up from Lance's feet and ran around Rolo and so she was in front of the prince. She almost hesitated when she saw Lance's face. His lone, blue eye was wide and crazed, focused solely on his sister. His streamers of white light like silken scarves began to extend out towards Allura like a mother reaching for a child or a lover reaching for their beloved.

She harrumphed and slammed her fist directly into the prince's stomach. Lance doubled over and coughed before slumping limply in the men's arms. Standing straight, she tossed one of her yellow appendages over her shoulder and looked up at the dumbfounded men.

"What?" she huffed. "I stopped him, didn't I?"

Rolo released his hold of Lance's arm and let the prince's full weight fall into the advisor's arms. "Yeah, you did," he said, shaking his head. "Don't know why I didn't think of that."

"Because your men," Nyma said, dismissively. "You always have to do things the hard way."

Coran cradled the unconscious prince in his arm, holding the boy close to his chest. It was times like these that he was proud of following the children into the pods. He never regretted the decision; there was nothing left to regret. His family was lost to the Great War one way or another. If he hadn't come, then Allura and Lance would have been alone and that was unforgivable. No, he never regretted the decision.

He just doubted his usefulness on occasion. But now, holding Lance like this, he knew his purpose. He was the advisor to this little team he optimistically called 'family,' but he was also the stability the prince and princess needed. He would make sure neither of them space jumped without a helmet, or fought on an empty stomach, tried to die in the other's place.

The light from Allura and the Castle suddenly blazed capturing the attention of everyone present. Coran looked up, squinting at the luminescence, and saw Allura fall to her knees and place both of her hands on the Balmera's surface. The light that had surrounded her now flowing through her into the ground below, sweeping across the landscape like a sea of turquoise-tinted white. It was breathtakingly beautiful.

Or it was, until the Robeast stood from where it had fallen. This wasn't over yet.

* * *

 _"What the quiznack was that?"_ Pidge gasped, her image appearing in Keithek's right view screen.

Keithek just shook his head, still trying to wrap his mind around the abrupt separation and loss of power. Fortunately, Shiro answered.

 _"Lance just broke off,"_ the black paladin said. _"Hunk are you okay?"_

 _"Yeah,"_ the yellow paladin said. _"I can't stop shaking though."_

"I know," Keithek said. "Neither can I."

Keithek studied his view screens, searching for the Blue Lion. Sensing his desire, the Red Lion showed the Blue Lion where it sat covered by its signature blue particle barrier. Keithek licked his lips nervously. If the Blue Lion's barrier was up, that meant Lance wasn't inside. So where was Lance?

The Red Lion turned its head and zoomed in on the area close to the base of the Castle. Keithek's breath caught as he tried to come to terms with what he was seeing. Princess Allura stood in the center of a circle of turquoise light that shone from both the Castle above her head and the Balmera beneath her feet. Five Balmerans knelt around her with their hands pressed to the glowing ground. Was this the energy exchange Allura and Coran had mentioned?

He was distracted by movement in the lower part of the screen. When he glanced at it, his eyes grew wide in disbelief. Coran, Rolo, and Nyma were holding Lance in place, preventing him from moving any further. However, their efforts were for naught. Gossamer spectres of pure, untainted light were literally sweeping out from the prince's body towards the princess. It was eerie and yet beautiful.

Until Nyma punched Lance in the gut and the spectres vanished. Furious, Keithek disengaged his controls and leaped out of his pilot chair. He ran to the hatch in the back antechamber that led to the ramp in his Lion's mouth, feeling the Red Lion lower her head so he could climb out more easily.

The moment he stepped outside however, he was momentarily blinded by a wave of light that flowed over the Balmera's surface like a blanket, coating it completely. Then it was gone and Keithek was left standing in front of his Lion dazed and blinded. Frell it all, his eyes weren't made for bright lights.

Blinking rapidly to recover his sight, Keithek began running towards where he recalled Lance was. His eyesight recovered slowly as he ran forward until the remnants of the light were just blots of blackish-green across his vision. He tripped over his own feet when he was tried to avoid a rock in his path and lost his balance. Someone caught his arm and helped steady him.

"Thanks," he muttered. "Lance?"

"He's fine, I think."

Keithek blinked and lifted his still blotchy gaze to the person helping him. "Rolo?"

"Don't sound so disappointed," the trader said. "Besides, I'd be more worried about your friends right now."

"What? Why?"

Rolo nodded in to the left and Keithek followed his gaze as best he could and felt his stomach plummet to the ground. The Robeast was standing. It wasn't defeated yet and Voltron wasn't there to fight it. With Lance in the state he was in, they couldn't form Voltron even if they wanted to. Keithek glanced over his shoulder and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the Black, Yellow, and Green Lions take flight and engage the damaged but still functional Robeast.

Thankfully, from what Keithek could tell, only the beasts chest eye was still working. It was powerful, but limited in direction. "Shiro," Keithek said into his comm unit, "do you need any help?"

 _"I think-"_

Hunk dodged the Robeast's chest beam and slammed head first into the source. The force of the Yellow Lion's impact knocked the Robeast back several spans where it landed on its back and remained.

 _"I think we did it,"_ Shiro said.

 _"Did you see that?"_ Hunk said, laughing breathlessly. _"I totally pulling a battering ram on that thing."_

 _"Don't tempt me to start singing 'Wrecking Ball',"_ Pidge warned.

 _"Oh Pele, please don't,"_ Hunk said quickly. _"Pidge, I'm freaking begging you. Don't."_

 _"Keith, are Lance and Allura alright?"_ Shiro asked, landing his Lion next to Lance's Blue Lion.

"Lance is unconscious," Rolo said, leaning over so his voice could be picked up by Keithek's helmet microphone. "The princess is awake but weak. The Balmerans are taking care of her."

 _"You'll understand if I don't take your word for it,"_ Shiro said, stepping out of his Lion onto the ground. "You didn't exactly leave a good first impression."

Rolo turned to the approaching black paladin and shrugged. "I did what I had to to survive," he said. "When you fight the Galra long enough, you'll begin to understand."

"I _have_ fought the Galra long enough," Shiro said fiercely, deliberately crossing his arms over his chest so his Druid-enhanced prosthetic gleamed. "But if it's a choice between them or my home and everyone else in this universe, then I choose my home and the universe."

Keithek rolled his eyes, relieved when he noticed his sight was almost back to normal. "You guys fight it out," he grumbled. "Coran, is Lance alright?"

"He's as well as can be expected," Coran replied. The advisor looked up and jerked his head indicating Keithek could join him on the ground. "They both just need a good, undisturbed sleep. But they may need to use one of the healing pods just to be sure."

Keithek placed his hand on Lance bandaged right cheek and frowned. "He's cold again," he murmured. He pressed the backs of his fingers to Lance's forehead and his frown deepened when he felt the same biting cold. "Why is he so cold?"

"It's a side effect of his bond with the Blue Lion," Coran said, startling Keithek. "I'd wager your own body temperature will be running slightly higher than normal. Well, your old normal, that is."

"My what?"

"Guys!" Hunk cried, coming over to join them with Pidge by his side. "What did we miss?"

"Hey."

"Rolo and Shiro are sizing each other up," Keithek said.

"Hey."

"Lance is unconscious and cold," Keithek continued.

"Hey!"

"And the princess is recovering from whatever that-"

"HEY!"

"-was that she did. Hey _what?"_ he snapped at Nyma who'd kept interrupting him.

But Nyma wasn't looking at him. She was staring with wide eyes and pointing at something beyond Keithek's shoulder. He looked back and paled.

"No," he breathed.

"Oh Pele," Hunk whimpered.

"I thought we beat that thing?" Pidge cried, drawing her bayard. It may not be of much use, but its weight was comforting.

Keithek followed the green paladin's example and drew his own bayard activating it immediately. He stood and placed himself directly between Lance and the Robeast that by some twisted miracle still alive.

"We can't fight it," Shiro said, fear evident on his face. "We can't make it to our Lions."

"Even if we did, we'd be down a paladin," Keithek said, daring a glance back at Lance. "So no Voltron."

"No," Allura said just loud enough for them to hear.

They'd lost.


	45. PART 2 - 45: Brisk Aftermath

**A/N:** Hey y'all. First off, I've officially changed Pidge's age to fourteen like the original canon. I didn't even realize her age when I first started writing this series so...yeah. Anyway, as of this chapter, I've fixed it. Don't worry, I've dealt with the issue in the chapter.

Secondly, I have some good news and some bad news.

 **Bad news:** This fic is almost over. There's probably only one or two more real chapters left to go for Part 2 on this site and of _Chill_ on AO3.  
 **Good news:** The last chapter of this fic on AO3 will be a preview of the sequel which I'm tentatively calling _Crystal_ and will cover the Crystal Venom arc as well as leading up, maybe even including the season finale arc. Immediately after posting the preview chapter, I'll upload the first chapter o the sequel and connect it to the _Warmth_ series on AO3. If you're only reading this fic on this site, then instead of a preview chapter and an entirely different fic, you'll just get the first chapter of Part 3, _Crystal._

Sound good? Fear not readers. I'm nowhere near done with this story. This is now my pet NaNoWriMo project and you know what that means? I good +50,000 words still to come. XD

Lastly, did y'all know the _Voltron: Legendary Defender_ OST is available to listen to on Youtube? I listened to the whole playlist on loop while writing this chapter. Check it out.

 **Chapter summary:** In which the Balmera saves its saviors, Hunk has a meltdown because Pidge is Pidge, and Lance dreams. **  
**

* * *

 **45: Brisk Aftermath**

This was it. He'd seen battle. He knew when he lost. It wasn't a feeling he felt often in the arena, but in secret… Now, staring up at the face of the thing that would destroy not only him but his friends, an entire race, and an entire planet made him feel small and insignificant.

It couldn't be the end. Other than Pidge, he'd only known these people for a week or so at best. So much had happened. He'd finally begun to feel like he had a purpose, like he belonged. Without him even realizing it, this group of ragtag, insane people had become his family. He couldn't lose them so soon. He couldn't lose them ever!

He glanced over at Princess Allura. She was leaning heavily on a Balmeran female who was also staring up at the giant Robeast in terror. If he let them die here, then he'd failed. He would not fail. He couldn't give up. Not now, not ever.

Shiro grit his teeth and turned back to the Robeast in fury. He activated his weaponized right arm, feeling the uncomfortable thrum of the Druid manufactured energy, and the shield from his armor's left arm. He was ready to die here if he had to. He didn't want to. But if it meant saving his companions, even if it was just one life, he was ready to die. He crouched by his fellow paladins, his friends, and waited.

The Robeast gave a gravely roar and Shiro stiffened, lifting his shield. The monster's glowing eye in its chest began powering up, readying for another and most likely final blast. The energy of Shiro's arm shield would hardly last long against the Robeast's green eye beam, but hopefully it would at least protect Allura.

Then the eye sparked and the radioactive green dimmed. Confused, Shiro narrowed his eyes and lowered his shield just enough to see the Robeast's entire body. Something sparkled in the eerie orange light of the Balmera's atmosphere. Shiro cautiously looked down at the Robeast's feet and stood straight in shock.

Massive crystals that glittered a clear sea green pierced through the Balmera's surface and climbed up the Robeast's body. The green eye on the monster's chest sparked and sputtered before a sea green crystal punched through the metal. A clump of rough-hewn crystal thrust through the monster's head, nearly splitting it in two. The crystals continued to grow up the Robeast's body slicing through the metal and expanding as it went until it completely encased the monster. Only then did the crystals slow their growth, eventually stopping entirely.

Shiro gaped at the crystal coffin that had effectively buried the Robeast alive in awful amazement. The Lions had struggled against the Galra-made monstrosity and even Voltron hadn't had much luck against the Robeast. But somehow, the Balmera defeated the Robeast in mere seconds.

"Wow," he whispered.

"Did the Balmera just…save us?" Pidge gasped.

"I-I think so," Keith murmured.

"Who's a good Balmera? You are," Hunk said in his baby talk voice.

Shiro blinked and turned to where the yellow paladin was on his hands and knees petting the ground. He really shouldn't have been surprised by the sight, but he still was. It was certainly unexpected.

"Who ate the nasty monster? You did," Hunk said, moving his hands back and forth as if scratching the Balmera like a dog. "Yes you did."

"Hunk?" Shiro asked hesitantly. "What are you doing?"

"Hey, no judging Shiro," Hunk said, holding up a single finger to stop the black paladin's argument. "The Balmera is a live and it wuvs my scwatches," he said in his baby talk voice again. "Don't you? Yes, you do. Yes, you do."

Allura approached on wobbly legs, still supported by the Balmeran female. "You Humans are very…um." She paused, searching for the right word. "Unique," she said finally.

"I was going to say weird, but I guess 'unique' works too," Keith said.

"Hey," Pidge said, putting her fists on her hips and glaring at Keith and Allura. "Did you just insult us?"

"I did," Keith said, raising his hand willingly. "I think she tried not to though," he added, pointing his thumb over his shoulder at the princess.

Pidge glared at the halfbreed, then smirked and crossed her arms smugly over her chest. Keith met the green paladin glare for glare, refusing to back down from the challenge she presented him. When all she did was snicker at him, Shiro could see Keith's hackles rise. The red paladin's gold and violet eyes gleamed but Shiro wouldn't step in until things got serious.

"You do realize you're basically a humanoid cat, right?" Pidge jeered, flashing her teeth in a challenging grin.

Keith growled and things just got serious.

"Alright, enough you two," Shiro said. "Keith, stand down. She's baiting you. Pidge, stop teasing Keith."

"But it's so much fun," she whined, giving Shiro huge puppy dog eyes.

"No, Pidge," Shiro said sternly.

To his surprise, Pidge backed down in full sulk mode. Hunk pointed at the green paladin and cackled madly. "You got scolded by Space Dad," Hunk crowed, falling on his back with laughter.

That got a small smirk out of Pidge. "Yeah," she said, brightening to the idea. "Yeah I did." She turned her sharp eyes to Shiro. "So you've finally accepted your position as Space Dad?" she asked.

Shiro groaned and dropped his head into his hands. "Oh my god," he groaned.

Now Pidge and Hunk were laughing at him and he was sure there was a blush in his cheeks. Even Keith was snickering now. He took some relief in knowing that the laughter was helping them deal with the lingering adrenaline and near death experience so he didn't fight back, much.

"Allura?" he said, lifting his head when he was sure his blush wasn't as intense as it had been. He squared his shoulders and looked over at the princess in concern. "Are you alright?"

The princess nodded, pushing herself away from the Balmeran supporting her with a smile. "I am Shiro," she said. "Shay helped me. Thank you," she said, offering the Balmeran a smile.

"You're Shay?" Shiro asked, turning his gaze to the Balmeran.

She smiled. "I am," she said. "And please, do not thank me princess. For it is we who must offer you our thanks. The Balmera lives. She too offers you her thanks. You have given these ones," she gestured to her family and by extension her people, "back our home."

"Yes," the Elder said, stepping forward and taking both Allura's and Shiro's hands in hers. "The actions you displayed today have brought something to these ones that we have not seen for years beyond memory." She smiled and placed Shiro's hand on top of Allura's, her smile softening when Shiro blushed. "Hope."

Shiro ducked his head and couldn't bring himself to look at his hand clasping Allura's for longer than a few seconds. It made him feel warm, or maybe that was just the blood rushing to his face. Judging from the Elder's soft laughter, his flaming cheeks hadn't gone unnoticed. But no matter how embarrassing this was, he couldn't bring himself to pull his hand away from the princess's. In the end, it was a groan that startled them both, causing them to jump apart.

Allura whirled to where Coran still knelt on the ground with a slowly waking Lance in his arms. Without pausing to consider what just happened, she hurried to her brother's side, reaching out to steady him when he sat up on his own. "Lance, are you alright?" she asked.

The prince nodded, wincing and rubbing his stomach. "Quiznack, that girl has a fist of murder," he muttered.

"I heard that," Nyma said, standing so her weight was cocked on one hip. She waited until both royal siblings looked up at her before smirking. "Saved your life though, didn't it? I'm a regular hero. Frell, I deserve a parade."

Lance frowned and looked back at Allura in cold fury. The force of his anger surprised the princess who leaned back a bit. "You promised you wouldn't go that far," he hissed. "You promised me you wouldn't go that far."

"I didn't," Allura said, meeting Lance with a frown of her own. "I handled it just fine."

"You made me resonate!" Lance cried. "You were dying!"

"What?" Shiro gasped. "Princess, is La-"

"He's exaggerating, Shiro," Allura said quickly. "I wasn't dying."

"You _were_ ," Lance snapped. "Wh-" He stopped and studied his sister closely, his eye trailing over her entire body. Why are you even alive right now?"

"She gave to the Balmera," the Elder said gently, placing a calming hand on the prince's shoulder drawing his attention. "So the Balmera gave back." She gestured to the crystalline Robeast towering over them in the light of the setting sun.

Lance followed the Balmeran's hand and felt his mouth drop open at the sight of the encased Robeast. He staggered to his feet in shock, wobbling slightly when a wave of dizziness nearly knocked him back to the ground. He reached out blindly for support and found it in a strong arm that caught his hand and tugged him back so his back pressed against a chest.

"What…happened?" Lance breathed.

"The Balmera killed it," Keith said, his voice right next to Lance's ear. "Allura healed it and it saved us. We left our Lions and couldn't fight back. We would've lost if the Balmera hadn't acted."

Lost. Died.

Lance heaved a sigh and leaned back against Keith's chest weakly, rubbing the palms of his hands over his eyes. He hissed when he rubbed too hard against his bandaged eye socket. Keith gripped Lance's shoulders firmly, rubbing them in a soothing manner until Lance was ready to stand on his own.

"What happened back there?" Keith asked softly. "That light, what was it?"

Lance glance back at Keith before looking away. "It's-"

"Say it's nothing and I might throttle you," Pidge said, startling both the red and blue paladins. "You broke up Voltron without even bothering to think about the consequences."

"I did consider the consequences," Lance countered. "They were worth it."

"You-" Pidge fumed. "That _hurt!_ You broke off and left us to fight that Robeast alone."

"I thought it was defeated," Lance argued.

"Still! You didn't ask us, you didn't even hint that you even _wanted_ to break up," she yelled. "You just forced us apart. My Lion is still not completely recovered from that."

"I won't apologize for what I did," the prince said firmly. "But I will apologize for hurting you and your Lion. That wasn't my intention."

"Then what exactly was your intention?" Pidge demanded.

"You wouldn't understand."

"Don't talk down to me," the green paladin sneered. "I may be short, but I'm not stupid. I'm a fucking genius, I'll have you know. I got into the Galaxy Garrison at only fourteen and did just fine, thank you very much."

"Wait, Pidge?" Hunk said, placing a large hand on Pidge's shoulder. "You got in at what age?"

Pidge flushed and shifted awkwardly. "Nothing," she mumbled.

"Hypocrite," Lance said.

Pidge glared at the prince, then spat, "Fourteen ok? I was fourteen!"

Hunk blinked. "Wait," he said slowly, lifting both of his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "You're fourteen years old?" he gasped. "Like _fourteen_ fourteen? Like four plus ten? Like still not of drinking age fourteen?"

Pidge flushed and batted Hunk's hands away. "I _was_ fourteen," she said. "I'm fifteen now, thank you very much."

Hunk gawked. He spun to Shiro and pointed a finger at him accusingly. "You _knew!"_ he cried. "You totally knew! You knew she was fourteen and never told us! Never told me! Oh my god. Holy Pele." The yellow paladin slapped his hands on his cheeks and began panicking. "Oh Pele, your fourteen. Dude, how do you know the things you know? How do you know about s- you know and all those bad words and- Holy crap! My mind. It's melting. Oh my god."

* * *

Pidge just stood there watching Hunk have a mental breakdown in shock. In her defense, she didn't mean to scare Hunk so badly. She didn't mean to scare him at all. She was just being honest. Why was her age such a big deal? It seemed to be an even bigger deal then her apparent gender had been. How ironic was that?

"Dude," she said, reaching out and hesitantly patting Hunk on the shoulder. "It's okay. Really. It's no big deal."

"No big _deal?!"_ Hunk shouted. "You're flippin' _fourteen!_ You're a freaking genius and you're a soldier and your fourteen! Do you have any idea how many kinds of wrong that is?"

"Hey," Pidge said, beginning to feel irritated and slightly offended. "I'm perfectly capable of holding my own."

Hunk shook his head violently side to side. "No, no, no, no. You don't get it," he said. "You're not even old enough to legally have se- you know!"

"Can you even say the word?" Pidge wondered aloud.

"And your fighting in a war against an enemy," Hunk continued.

"Yes," Pidge said slowly. "We all are."

"But you're a kid!"

"Take that back!" Pidge demanded vehemently. "I am _not_ a kid."

"But you are!" Hunk shouted back, covering his ears with his hands and squeezing his eyes shut. "You're a kid fighting in a war. You're a child warrior! That's wrong. That's so, so wrong!"

Pidge's face fell slack in surprise. "You…" She hesitated, unsure of what to think. "My age doesn't bother you?"

"Yes! It does!" Hunk cried.

"Not what I meant. Not what I mean," Pidge said, waving her hands dismissively. "I meant…" She bit her lip and her shoulders hunched over slightly. "I meant my age and the fact I'm fighting bothers you? Not that I _can't_ fight, but that I'm fighting at all?"

"Yes!" Hunk said. "It's wrong. Child soldiers are a huge no-no. That's a huge human rights violation. Not to mention it's just so freaking wrong. It's throwing my moral compass around like crazy, man."

Pidge slumped, not knowing what to say. "Oh," was all she could manage. After a moment, she turned to Shiro with wide, pleading eyes. "Shiro?"

Shiro pressed his lips together grimly but said nothing. He just bowed his head and sighed heavily. Pidge blinked and grimaced looking back Hunk who was honest to god bawling his eyes out. It was messy and loud and Pidge did not know what to do. She wasn't exactly a people person to begin with. She wasn't good with dealing with other people's emotions and Hunk was a huge ball of crazy emotions.

"Um," she started. "It's okay. I mean…" She huffed. "It's not okay but it's okay. Look," she sighed, "I'm not good with words, but it really is okay. I'm not doing this because I have to. I'm doing this because I _want_ to."

Hunk was still crying, but not as loudly. Maybe this was working?

"I joined the Garrison to find Matt and my dad," she continued. "I did that because I wanted to. I came with you in the Yellow Lion because I wanted to. Okay, so I kind of had to, too, considering I was _in_ the Lion and we'd basically kidnapped Shiro from the middle of the Garrison but _anyway_ the point is that I did it because I _wanted_ to. I'm fighting now because I _want_ to."

Hunk was still crying. This was really beginning to tick her off.

"Okay look, dumbass," she said, planting her feet apart so she faced her friend squarely and propped her fists on her hips. "If someone kidnapped your family, possibly enslaved them or who knows what else, would you let something as basic as your fucking _age_ stop you from doing something about it? No, you wouldn't because your heart is too damn big. I'm doing this to save my family and save this universe. Let me be a hero, okay?"

Hunk was blubbering now, but at least he wasn't crying his eyes out anymore. Pidge groaned. She really wasn't cut out for this kind of shit.

"I don't understand," Allura said. "Is something wrong with your age?"

"It-" Shiro hummed, crossing his arms in a visible withdrawal. "It's complicated."

"Okay," Keith said. "I have about had it with all of you. We are going to sit down and talk about this. All of this. As soon as we get out of here, you are all going to sit down and talk. Lance, you too."

The prince huffed and looked away in frustration. "You can't tell me what to do," he mumbled.

"No," Allura said. "But Keith's right. We do need to talk." She met Lance's gaze with her own and was saddened when he was the first to look away. She bit her lip but held firm. "Coran."

"Yes princess," her advisor said, standing and walking towards her.

"Please help the Balmerans with-"

"Nonsense, child," the Elder said. "We have long taken care of our own. Those ones need rest," she said, nodding to the paladins. "The threat has passed. For now, rest. You have offered aid to our people. Now our people offer aid to you."

"We didn't do it for the glory, ma'am," Shiro said quietly. "We did it because it was the right thing to do. No one deserves to go through what you and this world went through. No one."

"Your words are true," Shay said. "But be that as it may, allow us to give back to you. Just this once. It would honor these ones great."

Shiro hesitated, casting his gaze to the princess for a final answer. Pidge rolled her eyes and spoke before Allura could. "Well, if you insist, I could do with some food," she said.

"Food?" Hunk asked, eyes puffy from crying and cheeks blotchy and shining from tear trails.

"Pidge," Shiro said.

"What?" she said. "They offered. Food isn't a big deal. A small meal then a nap. This time, we _all_ stay together," she added, tossing a glare Rolo and Nyma's way. "No kidnapping of team members or I'll start electrocuting certain people." She held up her still activated bayard, smirking when the buzzing green blade had the two traders back away warily.

"Easy Pidge," Keith said, hefting his bayard and activating it. "I may take you up on that offer."

Lance groaned. "You do that," he said, stepping out of Keith's hold. "Allura, we'll talk later. Right now, I'm going to bed."

"You need to eat," Allura said.

"I'm not hungry," he said walking towards the Castle. "See you all later."

"Hey," Pidge said. "What'd I just say about we _all_ staying together? Especially you. You seem to have bad luck when you're alone."

"I won't be alone," he said.

"Dude," Pidge said, giving the prince a disdainful glare. "Who're you going to be with, hm? Everyone's out here."

"Not everyone," Lance said. He met Allura's gaze for a moment. Her eyes widened and she nodded in understanding.

"Wait," Hunk said. "Are there more ancient aliens in the Castle that we should know about?"

"I'll have the mice guide you," she said, closing her eyes to call her furry friends.

"I'll meet them at the door," Lance said and turned to make his way to back to the Castle.

"Hello?" Hunk said, waving a hand. "Ancient alien people? Are there more of them? It's not a ghost, right? Oh Pele, please tell me there aren't any ghosts in the Castle."

* * *

The small light blue and gray mice sat on Lance's right shoulder and the pink and green mice sat on his left as he made his way down the silent halls of the Castle of Lions. He had avoided this room for a while now due to the mess of emotions inside of him. He wanted to try to understand them before coming here. But he knew now that he couldn't sort through them on his own. It was time to face his fear.

He waved his hand by the access panel and the door slid open with a soft hiss. The room inside was dark and lifeless save for a single glass cylinder filled with light swirling within. Then there was a field of grass and junibbery flowers blossoming at his feet. Tall mountains with steep slopes plunged into deep valleys carved by thundering rivers from the glaciers. Paths crisscrossed the mountainsides dotted by lanterns to light the way. The sky was darkening as the sun set, heralding the long wintry night.

Light from the Daystar still streamed from beyond the distant mountains over the ocean sparkling just at the edge of his sight. The wind blew across the field on the mountain ridge, bending the grass and sending spores from the juniberry flowers floating into the atmosphere to dance with the starbugs. The clouds burned bright orange close to the setting sun darkening to a deep fuchsia then purple the closer to the oncoming night they were. Stars and the engineered rings orbiting the planet twinkled dimly in the night half of the sky. One of the rings was close to the setting sun shining gold in the fading light and casting a long shadow across the land.

Altea.

"Welcome home, my son."

Lance closed his eye and allowed himself to believe that he was home.


	46. PART 2 - 46: Ice Cold Truth

**A/N:** And the explaining begins. Hope y'all like my take on the Lion/paladin relationships. ^_^ I've roughly edited this already but seeing as it's 1am now my local time, I'm going to bed. I'll edit this seriously tomorrow. Enjoy and good night~ **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Lance and Alfor finally have a father-son moment while the paladins finally pry some intriguing information from the Alteans. **  
**

* * *

 **46: Ice Cold Truth**

"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner," Lance said. He took a deep breath and turned around so his father's memory could look at him. "I didn't…want to face you," he admitted.

When Lance opened his eye, he saw what he knew he would: fear, sadness, and sympathy was evident in his father's face. Alfor lifted his ghostly hands and cupped his son's cheeks running his thumbs over Lance's cheek bones. When the tingling sensation of the former king's thumb brushed over the bandaged eye, Lance looked down.

"I wish you didn't have to see this," Lance said softly, reaching up to remove the bandage from his wounded eye.

When he lifted his head again, he had to bite his tongue to fight the desire to look away, to hide, to cover his empty eye socket. But this was his father. Alfor loved him unconditionally. He wasn't Lakshmi, but he was still Lance's father and right now that was what Lance needed more than anything.

"What happened son?" his father asked.

"I…" Lance flinched involuntarily when Alfor reached up to brush holographic fingers over the damage. "I let my guard down," he said. "I didn't notice an imposter until it was too late and, um, almost got Allura killed. I almost got her killed." His breathing began picking up and he shook his head. "If I had been any slower that bomb would have killed her, all because I didn't notice that- That _thing!"_

"What do you mean?" Alfor asked gently.

"We- Pidge, the green paladin, managed to capture a Galra hoverbot and reprogram it to work for us, er, him." He shook his head quickly. _"Her,"_ he corrected himself. "Her. She made it work for her, even gave it a name and everything. Calls it Rover," he added with a chuckle, dropping his gaze to his feet. "It follows her around everywhere."

His laughter faded away and his gave a shaky sigh. "I saw a hoverbot that was identical to Rover fly into the crystal chamber where Allura and I were," Lance said slowly. "I should have noticed that Pidge wasn't with Rover to begin with but I didn't. I am _trained_ to notice those things and I _missed_ it when it mattered most. The hoverbot was a decoy with a bomb planted in its system. It blew up the power crystal and…"

"And that's how this happened?" his father asked gently, pressing his fingers to the corner of the prince's damaged eye.

Lance shook his head. "No," he said. "I… The explosion knocked me unconscious and destroyed the power crystal so the Castle lost power to everything, including out defenses and the healing pods." Lance tilted his head into his father's tingling touch. "Hunk, the yellow paladin, and Coran went to retrieve a crystal from a Balmera and the others-"

"Others?"

"Shiro the black paladin, Keith the red paladin and Allura," Lance clarified. "They went to investigate a possible Galra attack on an Arusian village."

"What about you and Pidge?" Alfor asked.

"I was unconscious so they left me and Pidge behind."

"They left you alone?" Alfor gasped.

"No, Pidge stayed. She left for a short time," Lance held up his hand to stop his father from speaking, "but he did the right thing. The attack on the village was a distraction. Sendak, the commander of the Galra battleship that Voltron defeated, took over the Castle while Allura and the other were gone and captured me. Pidge escaped detection and helped everyone get back in but not before…"

"This," Alfor said. He sighed and Lance could almost swear he felt his father's breath on his cheek. "I'm so sorry I couldn't be there when you needed me."

"You're here now," Lance said.

The former king smiled gently. "Yes," he said. "I'm here now and I'll be here for as long as you need me."

Lance swallowed over the lump in his throat and forced himself to breath. "Can, um," he began. "I don't know what to do. I'm her Sentinel, Father. It's my job to keep her safe, to watch for danger, to stand in her place. That's my job so why did she _stop me?"_ he cried, staring directly at his father.

His father's eyes clouded in confusion. "Stop you?" he asked. "What do you mean she stopped you?"

"Allura ordered Coran to keep me away from her," Lance shouted. "She performed the energy exchange ritual to heal the Balmera like we promised. But she did more than just heal a small wound form the removal of a single crystal. She healed the entire Balmera."

The former king gasped, dropping his hand away from his son in shock. "She did what?" he asked. "But that should have-"

"Killed her, yes I'm aware," Lance snapped. "My quintessence resonated with hers. I tried to give her my quintessence to bolster hers, but they stopped me."

"Who stopped you?"

"It doesn't matter right now," Lance said. "What matters is that Allura, the Heir, the person I'm sworn to, my _sister_ stopped me from saving her. If she'd died I…" He gasped, wrapping his arms around himself and clutching his arms in a self-comforting gesture. "I don't want to die alone, Father. I don't want that. I' can take everything else. I survived Sendak, I survived the Great War, I survived being shot out into space-"

"Shot out- Son, what are you talking about?" Alfor demanded.

Lance waved his hand weakly. "It's nothing," he said. He took a deep breath to steady himself before continuing. "What I mean is I've survived a lot, and I'm ready to keep fighting," he said fiercely. "But I can't do that alone. I won't. I refuse."

* * *

The former king's shoulders drooped and he bowed his head. It was several minutes of silence before he could finally speak. "I am so sorry," he whispered just loud enough for Lance to hear in the illusory twilight of Altea. "I wish I could be there in person and hold you like you deserve. You both deserve so much more than this. I wish…"

He lifted his head and tentatively reached out to press his thumb to his son's damaged right eye scale. The scale was sliced cleanly in two by what must have been a painful process. It didn't matter what weapon was used to do this, the fact remained that it had been done and Alfor hadn't been able to stop it.

When he saved his children, the former king had never wanted them to suffer. He had dreamed of them finding a safe, peaceful time far in the future to live out their lives to the fullest. It seemed that one simple wish was too much to hope for.

"This was never my intention," Alfor said. "I never imagined the Galra would have survived this long."

"Well I don't think anyone could have suspected Zarkon would be immortal," Lance snarked.

Alfor shook his head. "He isn't," he said.

"Well clearly he is," Lance countered. "Or he's constantly cloning himself and replacing his current self with clones."

Despite himself, Alfor snorted. "I doubt he is immortal," he said. "But I do not doubt he is playing with something he should has no business with. If the Druids are by his side, then it's not a far stretch to assume he has been experimenting with quintessence."

Lance's face flushed and he looked away. One of his hands reached up to press against the lower right side of his neck before he caught himself and snapped his hand away quickly.

"Allura traded for what I think was a cybernetic eye," Lance said. He huffed a small smile. "I bet she thinks she was being sneaky about it too. Don't tell her I know Father," he said. "She's probably very proud of herself right now."

Alfor chuckled. "I'm sure she is," he agreed.

"There's more," the prince said, tightening his grip on his arms. "We fought the Galra today before Allura healed the Balmera. We were going to lose. Allura was in the Castle and its defenses were…" He shrugged. "I gave her my quintessence and she…used the weapon."

"What weapon?" Alfor asked, momentarily confused. Lance gave him a look and whatever color had been in his holographic face drained. "No. Lance that-"

"It was either that or she would have died," Lance said venomously. "I wasn't about to let that happen."

Alfor took his son's face in both of his holographic hands and pleaded, "That weapon should never have been created in the first place."

"It wasn't originally supposed to be a weapon," Lance said. "Besides, I'm pretty sure the Galra have found a way to weaponize quintessence as well. We've fought these giant robot monsters Keith calls Robeasts twice now. They're clearly made by the Druids and they were always good with quintessence."

"True," the former king admitted. "But that doesn't make it right."

"I know," Lance said softly. "Allura feels horrible. She'll probably have to talk to you about it later on when she can be alone. She never was one for war or killing. She never liked the idea of me being her Sentinel either."

"No, but it's not for her to like or dislike," Alfor said. "It simply the way things are. Are you attempting to rebuild your network?"

Lance lifted an eyebrow briefly and his right shoulder twitched in a half shrug. "It would certainly prove useful," he said, easing the tension from his shoulders as they approached a less sensitive topic. "I already think I've found two potential members, whether they realize it or not."

Alfor chuckled. "Don't get carried away," he chided fondly, running his ghostly fingers through his son's messy brown hair. "Now, are you ever going to tell me about your mate?" he teased.

The intense blush that flooded Lance's face was well worth it. Alfor tipped his head back and laughed while his son unleashed a flurry of curses. Honestly, this boy. He could be surprisingly oblivious about some of the simplest things. Lance may have been avoiding his father, but Allura hadn't. She'd come to Alfor often and confided in him.

The fact Alfor had also gained access to the Castle's security and periphery systems was something Lance and Allura didn't need to know.

* * *

"So," Keithek said, sitting in the Red Lion's paw just close enough to the campfire to feel the warmth, "which of you wants to start?"

He looked between Coran and Allura sitting across from him. Both Alteans looked exhausted but Allura was visibly struggling to keep her eyes open and focused. Keithek felt a brief prick on his conscience, but dismissed it with ease when he reminded himself that this involved his mate. His mate came first, always.

"I'm not sure where to start really," Allura said softly. She took a cup of hot liquid from a Balmeran and cradled it in her hands close to her chest.

"Why not with who Lance went to see in the Castle," Keithek said, narrowing his yellow and violet eyes suspiciously. "Other than your psychopathic telepath mice," he ignored the glare the princess shot his way, "there shouldn't be anyone else on board the Castleship. Unless you're lying about that."

"We never lied to you," Coran spoke up. "There isn't anyone on the Castleship in the way you mean."

"That doesn't even make sense," Pidge said.

"It's a ghost isn't it," Hunk moaned.

"I'm not sure what a 'ghost' is," Coran said thoughtfully, "but the person left in the Castle is the former king of Altea and Lance and Allura's father, Alfor."

"What?" the paladins cried.

"But you said you were the only ones left of your race," Shiro said studying Allura's face closely.

Allura pursed her lips. "My father is dead," she said.

"I knew it. It's a ghost," Hunk groaned.

"But his quintessence was preserved in a memory core," the princess continued over the yellow paladin's vocal despair.

"A memory core is a device that stores the quintessence of an individual and preserves it for future use," Coran explained. "The quintessence retains the person's memories, feelings, and personality. It's a way to communicate with someone after their physical body has passed on. King Alfor stored his quintessence in a memory core before he died."

"And that memory core is on the ship right now," Shiro said.

"Correct."

"There's that word again," Rolo said from his spot close to the fire. "Quintessence. What the quiznack is that?"

The Altean advisor looked genuinely confused by the question. "You don't know?" he asked, completely befuddled.

"None of us do to be honest," Hunk said with a shrug. "But I'm guessing it's something like ectoplasm or whatever soul stuff is left over to make ghosts."

Keithek rolled his eyes. "I know a little about it," he admitted. "The Druids work with it regularly as part of their magic."

"True enough," Coran said. "Quintessence is the purist and most concentrated form of life. It exists in any and every living thing. It's also been known to exist in non organic materials even long after the organic parts were removed. For instance, quintessence exists in planets which includes he rock, soil, and metals within the planet."

"But planets aren't alive," Pidge argued.

"Perhaps not in the way you perceive life," Coran countered. "They may not all be sentient like a Balmera, but they are alive in a sense. The rock moves, bends, and contracts like muscles in a body. Take the quintessence away from a planet and you'd be left with nothing but barren rock, completely devoid of life that will crumble into dust."

"You mean like what almost happened to the Balmera?" Hunk asked.

"Exactly," Coran said.

"Okay, then what about what that weapon you used on the Galra?" Shiro offered, lifting his gaze from the fire to the princess next to him. "That destroyed an entire Galra fleet in one shot."

"Yeah," Hunk said. "It was like a nuclear bomb focused in a death ray like the Death Star planet destroying laser from Star Wars."

"What I don't understand," Pidge interjected, "is if you had a weapon like that all along, then why didn't you use it to win the war a long time ago?"

"Because it never should have been used," Allura said, bowing her head sadly. "It was wrong of me to use it. Lance may believe otherwise but I cannot bring myself to agree. All those lives lost."

"But what is it?" Keithek pressed.

"It's a form of quintessence," Allura answered. "A combination of both mine and Lance's as well as the ship's quintessence fire in a highly concentrated beam."

"But you just quintessence was this life force thing," Hunk said in confusion. "How can something that is innately 'life,'" he held up air quotes as he spoke, "then how can it be used to kill?"

"Anything can be used to kill, Hunk," Shiro said grimly.

"Shiro's right," Coran said seriously. "Quintessence may be life, but it's still energy. The term 'force' in the phrase 'life force' is actually a misnomer. Quintessence isn't a force at all really. It's an element that can only be accessed by using specialized equipment and lots of training."

"So when those glowing streamer things came out of Lance," Keithek began.

"He was attempting to give his quintessence to Allura so she wouldn't die from healing the whole Balmera," Coran said. "As her Sentinel, Lance has the ability to resonate his quintessence to Allura's and allow her to use it as if it were her own."

"But if everyone's quintessence is unique to them, then how can Lance make his match Allura's?" Pidge asked with interest.

"It's based on the bond you paladins have with your Lions," Coran said. "Well, actually the bond between Sentinel and Heir is older than the paladin and Lion relationship. The Lion and paladin bond was modeled after the Sentinel and Heir bond. The Lions are the Heirs to the paladins Sentinels."

"You see," the advisor continued, "the Sentinel is the title given to the person whose quintessence is the closest match to the Heir's just like the paladin's quintessences is the mirror of the Lion's. The Sentinel's duty is to watch, protect, and stand when the Heir cannot. Should something happen to the Heir during their reign, then the Sentinel, if he or she is still alive, will then take over the throne until the end of their life which usually wasn't very long."

"Why not?" Keithek asked, not sure if he wanted to know the answer.

Coran hummed thoughtfully before answering. "Because if the Sentinel senses the potential for injury or death to befall their bonded Heir, then they can synchronize their quintessence so it resonates with the Heir's and offer it up to replace the quintessence the Heir might have lost. There are limitations, of course, like the Sentinel and Heir must be relatively close for the exchange to take place and it works best with physical touch is involved but…Oh, Shiro? Are you alright?"

"What?" Shiro asked, genuinely confused. His eyes were wide as he tried to wrap his head around what Coran was saying.

"Oh dear," Coran muttered.

"If I'm dying," Allura said grimly, "then Lance can give me his life force to keep me alive and heal any injuries I might have." She narrowed her eyes in frustration. "But it drains him so he can't do it often or for prolonged periods of time. It will kill him."

Keithek almost fell off the Red Lion's paw in shock. "It'll what?" he cried. "What do you mean it'll kill him?"

"He's giving me his quintessence," Allura snapped. "His life force. That's a finite source. If he gives it all to me, there won't be any left for him."

"Remember what happens to a planet when all of its quintessence is removed?" Coran asked.

"Dust," Keithek breathed in horror.

Allura nodded. "That's why I ordered Coran to keep Lance away from me while I healed to Balmera," she said.

"You were protecting him," Shiro said, nodding in understanding.

"Woah," Pidge murmured.

"That's dark, man," Hunk said. Then a thought occurred to him and he sat up. "Hey, but wait a sec. Did you say your father, King Alfor, was your mother's Sentinel before he married her?"

Allura nodded. "He was," she said. "But when I was voted to be the next Heir, my mother transferred the official title to me. My father was going to hand his title to my Sentinel, but my family was murdered before he got the chance."

Shiro leaned back against one of the Balmera's crystals, pulling one leg up and propping his mechanical prosthetic on his knee. "But Lance is your Sentinel," he said. "Doesn't that mean your father passed his title to him?"

The princess nodded but it was Coran who spoke. "He did, yes," the advisor said. "But Lance wasn't the first choice."

"It was Lauma," Allura said. "My older sister. She was supposed to be my Sentinel. But she died with the rest of my siblings that night before Father could officially pass his title to her. Lance was the next closest match to my quintessence so Father passed him the title."

Coran turned his gaze to the fire, a move Shiro didn't miss. But before he could press the issue, Pidge asked a question.

"If you don't mind me asking," Pidge said hesitantly, "what kind of poison was it?"

"Pidge," Shiro warned.

Allura shook her head. "It's fine. It wasn't actually poison in the most traditional sense of the word," she said, considering her words carefully. "I was actually an acid. It was mixed into our drinks without us knowing."

"An acid?" Pidge gasped. Shiro's eyebrows flew to his hairline and now even he was interested in a sick, twisted way.

"Yes," Allura said slowly. "I don't know what you call it or if you have it on your world, but we call it 'muriatic acid.'"

Hunk sat ramrod straight. "Oh Pele. No way."

"That sounds vaguely familiar," Shiro said, wracking his brain for where he'd heard that word before.

"We have it," Hunk said seriously. "We don't call it muriatic acid much anymore, but yeah, we have it. It's more commonly called by its chemical name: hydrochloric acid."

Both Pidge and Shiro's faces turned white as a sheet. "Oh my god," Shiro murmured in horror.


	47. PART 2 - 47: The Tears Not Shed

**A/N:** Ok, fair warning. This is kind of dialogue heavy. But there's a lot of background given regarding the Altean culture and our favorite royal siblings. Also, Shiro and Coran may have a bonding moment.

Also, there may only be one or two more chapters left of this story before the next story arc begins. That's 2-3 days till Part 3. Yay! **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Hunk shares a special moment under the dancing lights with Shay while Shiro and Coran have a deep and informative talk in private. **  
**

* * *

 **47: The Tears Not Shed  
**

Hunk sat on one of the curved spikes curving out of the Balmera. It reminded him of that spiral hill Jack Skellington walked on in that scary _Nightmare Before Halloween_ movie. But since he was enjoying the starlight and the soft glow of the Balmera's freshly grown crystals, he was fine with this setup. The wind swirled around him and tugged at his hair like a sibling demanding attention.

He needed to be alone to think right now. What Allura and Coran had told him and his friends… It was a lot to take in. There was still much they needed to discuss, but they had all silently agreed to wait. Lance was still wherever he'd holed himself up in the Castle, Allura had clammed up after explaining the circumstances of her family's death, and Coran had taken the princess to her room. Pidge and Keith had offered to stay in the Castle as guards while Hunk stayed outside with the Balmerans.

Apparently, none of the Balmerans in this generation had ever set foot on the Balmera's surface before. They always been confined to the tunnels below the ground for centuries if not longer. It broke Hunk's heart. These people were so kind and gentle. He couldn't imagine being locked underground for all his life, never allowed to see the sun or the sky except for the few glimpses from the bottom of deep mining shafts.

He looked down and saw a multitude of Balmerans gathered together near the Castle of Lions and the crystallized Robeast. The sight of the defeated monster still brought a smile to his face. He leaned back, propping himself up by bracing his hands behind him, petted the Balmera under his hands as he did so just because.

"Hunk!"

The yellow paladin looked over his shoulder and smiled at his new guest. "Shay," he said happily. "Come to join me?"

"If it is acceptable, yes," the Balmeran said, smiling shyly.

"Of course it's acceptable," Hunk said laughing gaily. "This is your home world after all. I'm just a visitor here. Besides, you and your people are free now. Do whatever you want."

Shay's smile grew broad and she finished the climb up the curved rock the sit next to Hunk with her feet dangling over the ledge. Hunk marveled at her bravery. He valued his life too much to let his feet dangle off a ledge so freaking high off the ground. How high up were they anyway? Fifteen yards? Twenty? Higher? He swallowed back a gulp of bile and focused on not thinking about how high they were. Maybe sitting up here wasn't such a good idea.

"It's so beautiful," Shay said, moving her wide yellow eyes over the Balmeran landscape in awe. "These ones have never seen such beauty before," she said referring to her people.

Hunk's smile softened. "Well now you can," he said. "You can for as long and as often as you want."

"Because we are free," Shay said. "That is thanks to you."

"Well," Hunk said, lifting his shoulders and bowing his head to hide his blush, "not just me. I wouldn't have been able to do anything without my friends' help."

"Yes. Your princess healed our world." Shay's voice fell to a whisper. "My people are in debt to that one. Should she ever ask us for aid, we would be honor bound to aid her."

"She would probably only ask you to enjoy your time as a free people," Hunk said. "Use this opportunity to establish yourselves and find your way."

"That does sound nice," Shay murmured.

They sat together in comfortable silence watching the far horizon begin to lighten as an eerie green. Hunk sat up and studied the glow in cautious interest. The lights moved in slow sweeps across the sky, sometimes with hints of red near the top of the atmosphere.

"What is that?" Shay asked, gazing at the dancing lights in fearful awe.

But Hunk wasn't afraid. He was thrilled. He'd never seen these lights in anything but photographs and videos on YouTube. "Aurora borealis," he said. "They're aurora borealis."

"Aurora what?" Shay asked.

"Aurora borealis," Hunk repeated. "It's a fancy way of saying the northern lights. They're caused by electrons hitting the atmosphere." He noticed the odd look Shay gave him from the corner of his eye and offered her a timid smile. "Sorry," he said. "I get a little excited Sometimes."

Shay grinned merrily. "Never apologize for something that brings you joy. Joy is something you should be proud to experience."

Hunk chuckled. You're right."

"The dancing lights…" Shay's voice trailed away. "They are the same color as your shortest companion."

"Hm? Oh, you mean Pidge," Hunk said. "You've never seen that color before?" Shay shook her head and Hunk hummed in thought. "Well, it's called 'green.' The planet I'm from has a lot of green. Lots of shades of it too. Those lights," he said, nodding to the aurora borealis, "are really rare on Earth. Relatively speaking anyway," he corrected.

"They're not really rare close to the north pole," he continued, "but they're super rare where I live. I live on an island in the Pacific. The aurora borealis doesn't come that far south. Or if it has, it was before I was born."

"Are they dangerous?" Shay asked hesitantly.

"Oh no," Hunk said. "Not at all. Not for us anyway. Maybe if you were flying through, but considering that's incredibly difficult, it's not really a problem."

Shay fell silent again and gazed at the rippling green lights. "They give me hope," she murmured after several minutes. "Just like you did."

This time, Hunk did not duck to hide his blush and wide smile.

* * *

Shiro leaned against the hallway wall outside Princess Allura's bedroom and waited until Coran came out before speaking. "Is she asleep?" he asked when the Altean advisor let the princess's door slide closed and lock.

Coran jumped a bit, surprised by the black paladin's presence, but otherwise said nothing. He simply nodded and glance back at the closed door in worry.

"You're hiding something," Shiro said, deciding to cut to the chase. "When Allura said Lance was the closest match to her quintessence, you looked away."

"That's a lot to assume from one look," Coran said, lifting an eyebrow curiously. He didn't act offended or suspicious, merely intrigued. When Shiro said nothing, the advisor shrugged. "You're right, I suppose," he admitted. "I am hiding something. But perhaps not for the reasons you think."

"What are my reasons?" Shiro challenged.

Coran tilted his head to the side, glancing down the hallway to be sure they were alone. Then he turned on his heel and waved for Shiro to follow. "I need to work on a few things in the crystal chamber," he said. "Come and help me and I'll try to explain what I can."

Pushing away from the wall, Shiro followed quietly. When they entered the crystal chamber, the black paladin couldn't help but look at the floor where he'd found Allura and Lance unconscious after the explosion that threw everything to chaos. Swallowing thickly, he forced himself to look away and noticed Coran was busying himself with a few of the control panels along the walls.

A holographic interface appeared over the control panel and Coran quickly typed in what appeared to be a command code. A tablet that had been lying dark to the side of the panel lit up and Coran placed his hand on the device, selecting an option on the screen. A moment later, a hiss and burst of steam startled Shiro. He spun around to what he'd thought were just support columns and was surprised to see a large slide filled with several colorful crystals eject from the column. He hadn't even noticed there was a slot there in the first place.

Coran strolled over to the metal slide and pulled it the rest of the way out. He held it up so it caught the light and examined the crystals closely, his forehead creasing in concentration. He hummed and walked over to the central platform, plopping down on the step and gesturing for Shiro to join him.

"Bring the tablet I left on the panel over there with you," he said.

After a moment's hesitation, Shiro stepped forward and picked up the tablet before sitting next to the advisor on the platform. Although Shiro was eager for answers, he knew better than to press Coran for what was probably sensitive or possibly personal information. His patience paid off.

"Allura told you Lance was the next closest match to her quintessence," Coran began, waiting for Shiro to nod in affirmation. "She was wrong. She didn't lie," he said quickly. "She was just wrong. Lance was not the second closest match, he was and still is _the_ closest match. Hold the tablet up so I can see it, please."

Shiro lifted the tablet so it sat propped on his thigh facing Coran. The advisor studied the readouts in Altean script on the tablet, shifting so he could rest the metal slide on his own lap. Steadying the slide with one hand, Coran reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a thin stylus and began tapping gently at one of the crystals. After each tap, he studied the readouts on the tablet.

"Tilt it up a bit please," he said. He waited for Shiro to comply before speaking once more. "Alteans have always been particularly sensitive to quintessence," he said. "I'm not exactly sure why. It's become such an important part of Alteans as a people but it's nigh on impossible to track back to when we first discovered it. It was so long ago even our records debated it. It's almost as old as our relationship to the juniberry plant."

"Juniberry plant?" Shiro asked.

Coran nodded, humming affirmatively. "It's a plant that is native to Altea. It only grew where Alteans lived. The more Alteans were in the area, the more juniberry flowers bloomed. But that's not important right now," he said, waving away that subject.

"It was very common for Alteans to sense quintessence," Coran explained, moving his stylus to another crystal in the slide. "Some more than others, granted, but sensing quintessence was normal. It was slightly less common for someone to have the ability to directly interact with quintessence. Depending on their skill, those who could interact with quintessence were sent to study under the Druids."

"Druids?" Shiro gasped, his whole body stiffening in shock. He had to scramble for the tablet when it almost slipped from his grasp.

"Yes," Coran said, waiting patiently for the black paladin to relax before continuing. "The Druids were not always evil. Before the Great War, the Druids were a knowledgeable and highly respected sect of scholars skilled in the art of quintessence manipulation." Coran tapped the tablet in Shiro hands, swiping across the screen so another display appeared. "They had different categories I suppose you could call them. Anything from Healing to Warcraft. Although we are a peaceful people who loath war, we revere death. We believe that when we die, our quintessence joins that Eternal River where our ancestors and everything that had lived, currently lived, and would live dwelled. It was something to accept, not fear."

"Nevertheless," Coran said gravely, meeting Shiro's eyes, "death by natural causes and murder are two very different things. Murder was a capital offense. It interfered with the natural flow of things. War was viewed as the epitome of mass murder. We would fight if threatened, but killing others merely for the sake of killing was and still is deplorable. We could and would defend ourselves, but we preferred diplomacy over weaponry."

"You mentioned Allura was a diplomat," Shiro said.

Coran nodded. "Yes, yes she was. Very good one too." Coran chuckled, his gaze distant and his smile fond. "Ah, she was a shrewd woman even when she was a child. She often accompanied her father, King Alfor, on his diplomatic missions."

"King Alfor was a diplomat too?"

"Oh yes," Coran said. "That was his job before he was chosen as Queen Lakshmi's Sentinel. Even after that, when a delicate hand was needed for a particularly tense diplomatic mission, Alfor would go."

"You see," Coran said, waving the hand holding his stylus, "we Alteans were considered the diplomats of the universe at the time. If there was ever a dispute or treaty or something that required an objective party to be present, we were there. That was our job. We never took sides in a war or dispute that did not involve us but we would send aid to anyone who needed it no matter who they were. We were explorers who loved learning and all things new and interesting."

Coran flushed and scratched his red hair awkwardly. "And there I go being distracted again," he said bashfully.

"It's alright," Shiro said. "It's interesting."

"Don't be polite, young man," Coran said, patting the black paladin's back. "I know I ramble."

Shiro smiled. "It's okay," he said. "I mean it. It really is okay. That _is_ interesting. If you ever want to ramble, you can talk to me. I..." He blushed and looked away nervously. "I may need someone to talk to sometimes too."

Coran's old eyes softened. "Of course son," he said. "Whenever you need to, I'll be here."

Shiro smiled up at the advisor, truly grateful for the offer.

"Now about Lance," Coran said, returning to the original subject. "Our young prince was adept at directly accessing quintessence and old enough to apprentice under the Druids. So was Allura, but she preferred diplomacy to becoming a Druid."

Shiro frowned. "Lance was going to become a Druid?" he asked.

"Yes," Coran said. "Remember, the Druids weren't always allied with Zarkon. Lance wanted to fly. His best chance to do that was to apprentice under the Druids. He would have graduated the Druid Collegium as a Master Pilot if the royal family hadn't been murdered."

Shiro winced and looked away. "I'm sorry," he murmured.

The Altean shook his head. "Thank you," he said softly. Tears sparkled in his eyes, spilling over to his cheeks and pooling in his mustache. "Truly, that means a lot."

Neither spoke until Coran shook himself, collecting himself. "Anyway, Lance wanted to fly, but the Druids wanted him to study Ascension. Ascension is the art of allowing one's quintessence to resonate with the world around them. A Master Ascender could actually touch the Eternal River with their quintessence. There were stories of ancient times when Master Ascenders succeeded in merging their quintessence with the Eternal River entirely, leaving their physical bodies behind to exist as quintessence alone. It's from this idea that we developed the memory core."

The black paladin nodded, wide eyed. "I've seen a memory core before," he said. "A Druid was using it. I didn't know that it was Altean technology."

"Oh indeed," Coran said proudly.

"But Lance turned down the Master Ascender thing?" Shiro nudged gently.

Coran nodded. "That he did. He wanted nothing else than to be a Master Pilot." He smiled fondly. "It was a source of tension between him and Allura. Allura wanted Lance to embrace all that he was, but Lance would not be swayed."

Coran turned back to the colorful crystals in the metal slide on his lap and began tapping them again. "When Allura was voted the next Heir," he continued, "it was assumed Lauma would be her Sentinel. But that was never the case. Ever since Lance's proficiency at Ascension became apparent, King Alfo had been training Lance to be the next Sentinel."

"Was Lance aware of this?" Shiro asked.

"He was," Coran said, moving to the next crystal in the slide, this one glowing green. "You must understand: to Alteans, the Sentinel and Heir are sacred positions. To be chosen as one or the other was a blessing."

"But the Heir is a voted office, right?"

The Altean nodded. "It is, yes. But it was more than that. It would take a good long while to explain the complexities of the process. It's so steeped in tradition that to explain one thing, I would have to explain many others."

"I wouldn't mind listening," Shiro said with a smile.

Coran chuckled. "You say that now. Just wait until I'm three hours in. You won't be so eager then."

Shiro shrugged carelessly. "I graduated college. I think I can manage to listen to something interesting for a few hours."

The Altean laughed cheerfully. "I'll hold you to that, my boy. But for now, I'll just answer your original question. If I don't get side-tracked again, that is." He grinned and the black paladin smiled back.

"When the Druids began assessing possible candidates for Allura's Sentinel, there was pressure from within and without to choose Lauma," the advisor said. "Her quintessence was a close match to Allura's and could be used to fulfill the Sentinel's duties."

"But not as well as Lance's," Shiro said.

"But not as well as Lance's. Correct," Coran said, nodding. "Alfor refused to give his title to Lauma because he knew her quintessence wasn't right for the position. However, word spread that Lauma was the candidate for Sentinel anyway and Allura heard the news. Then before everything could be cleared up, the royal family was poisoned and…" He shrugged and fell silent.

Shiro considered Coran's words quietly before asking, "Why did the Druids want Lauma to be the Sentinel and not Lance?"

"Because they wanted Lance to be a Master Ascender," Coran answered simply. "He has a great gift. They were afraid of losing such an untapped gift. They had already lost Allura and her ability to find that which is lost. Losing another prodigy would have been a shame."

"Prodigy?" Shiro repeated. "What do you mean by finding 'that which is lost'? You mean like tracking?"

"Sort of," Coran said, tapping the stylus on his chin. "Allura has the ability to become a Master Finder. Finders can, well, find things that are lost. Specifically, they can track the quintessence of someone of something even over vast distances."

"That's how she found the Lions," Shiro murmured.

"That, and she's the Heir," Coran said. "When the Great War began, King Alfor tied the Lions' quintessence to the Heir's who happened to be his daughter. The Heir can always track the Lions with or without the aid of the Castle of Lions. However, the Castle acts as an amplifier. By focusing her quintessence through the Balmera's crystal, Allura's quintessence in magnified by many times. This allows her to accurately pinpoint the Lions' locations even if they're on the opposite side of the universe."

Shiro frowned. "But if that's true, then why couldn't she find the Red Lion in the beginning?"

Coran sighed. "I had thought about that," he admitted. "My only guess is that the Galra have somehow come up with some sort of shield that can block Allura's Finding ability. I do believe Allura would have been able to find the Red Lion if she'd had more time to concentrate, but sometimes time is of the essence."

Shiro nodded. "So Lance was originally supposed to be the next Sentinel."

"Lauma was the closest natural match for Allura's quintessence," Coran said, nodding. "But Lance was the better choice. One of the reasons he could easily have become a Master Ascender is because he can make his quintessence resonate with just about anything by sheer force of will. Lauma would have only been able to resonate with Allura."

"But isn't that the point?" Shiro asked.

Coran tilted his head in a half nod. "Yes," he said slowly. "But it would have made it difficult for Lauma to use the Castle of Lions."

Shiro frowned in confusion. Then his face stilled in understanding. "That weapon."

Coran nodded. "It wasn't originally a weapon," he said. "Actually, it isn't a weapon at all, even though it can be used as a weapon. It's a focused beam of quintessence magnified by the Balmera's crystal and fired from the Castle. It's main purpose was to rejuvenate planets whose quintessence had dwindled."

"Like what Allura did to heal the Balmera."

"Yes, exactly like that Shiro," the Altean said. "Except, the Castle wasn't designed to heal an entire planet from the brink of death. It was only meant to bolster the quintessence that was already there, just diminished like after a natural disaster."

The black paladin considered Coran's words carefully. "And Lauma wouldn't have been able to do that?"

"She could in theory," Coran said. "But I doubt she could do it in practice. With Lance's ability to will his quintessence to resonate, he can mimic Allura's quintessence almost perfectly tricking the Castle into viewing his quintessence as hers. When both his and Allura's quintessence merged and was magnified by the Castle, it had the potential to destroy or heal. It's all a matter of how it's used."

"And Lauma couldn't do that?" Shiro pressed.

Coran sighed, stopping his tapping and sat back. "I honestly don't know for sure," he said. "It's possible she could have. But I suppose we'll never know. If she'd been chosen as the Sentinel, she wouldn't have been at that final festival and died with the rest. But because Lauma wasn't chosen, she went. Allura, as the Heir, wasn't permitted to join the beginning of the festival because of the traditional cleansing. At the festival's peak, the former Heir, Queen Lakshmi and the former Sentinel, King Alfor, would have presented Allura and Lance respectively to the people of Altea."

"But that didn't happen," Shiro said.

"No," the advisor sad sadly. "No it did not." He shrugged. "Just goes to show that some things, no matter how well intentioned, have unexpected consequences."

"If I may ask," Shiro said slowly, "was it Zarkon who poisoned the royal family?"

"Hm? I don't know," Corna said. "I suspect it was considering the circumstances. He certainly took credit for it. But did he do it with his own hand?" He shook his head. "I don't know. I don't think we'll ever know."

"I guess it doesn't matter much now," Shiro said, bowing his head with a heavy sigh.

Neither spoke of much the rest of the night. Instead, Shiro helped Coran finish testing the crystals in the metal slide as well as several other, near identical slides before both retreated to their respective rooms to sleep.


	48. PART 2 - 48: Body Heat

**A/N:** This is the longest chapter in this fic yet, but I doubt y'all will be disappointed when you read it. Just fair warning, this chapter has made me up the rating for this fic from Teen to Mature if that's a subtle enough hint. I gave this a quick once over but seeing as it's 1:30am my time and I have work at 9am tomorrow, I'm going to bed now. I'll edit this more thoroughly tomorrow. Goodnight and enjoy~ **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Keithek's name is not Fido, Lance challenges his mate, and sometimes the ending isn't what you'd expect. **  
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* * *

 **48: Body Heat**

Keithek stepped out of the training arena slightly sweaty but feeling much better. His thoughts were still a mess of disjointed emotions and mismatched nonsense, however. He'd learned a lot from Allura and Coran, but it wasn't enough. He felt like there was so much he didn't know about anyone really. He doubted some of it was deliberate. But the fact remained he knew very little about his team. He knew even less about his mate.

Until a couple turns ago, Keithek had accepted several things as indisputable facts. Emperor Zarkon was the supreme leader of the Galra Empire. Prince Lotor was a dick of the highest order. Sendak was a pile of refuse Keithek himself was a halfbreed alpha. He would never have a mate. His father loved him. Alteans were an extinct species. Voltron was a legend. Nothing could defeat the Galra Empire.

Now he was forced to reevaluate his life and everything he believed. It was stressing him out. It turned out the Alteans did still exist, even if they were in the critically endangered. They were debatably even extinct in the wild, per say. Not only that, but one of those endangered Alteans was Keithek's mate.

His mate. Keithek had a mate. Granted, they hadn't been mated in the best of circumstances but Keithek couldn't find it within him to regret it. He'd even taken Coran's advice to heart and had begun courting Lance. If the kiss they'd shared after rescuing Allura and Shiro from Rolo and Nyma was anything to go by, this whole courting thing was definitely worth it. Hopefully, they could progress further soon.

Also, Voltron was not only real, Keithek was a paladin and the Red Lion was now a huge part of him. As if on cue, a low rumbling purr filled his mind bringing a smile to Keithek's lips. The Red Lion had made a habit of vocalizing when she sensed her paladin was in distress. With her purr came a pulse of warmth that enveloped him like a soft, well-worn blanket. It wasn't as intense or as immediate as when they were united as Voltron, but it was still a flame he welcomed like the rare hugs he got from his father before they went their separate ways.

It was a lot to take in at once.

He walked passed one of the spare bedrooms glancing at the closed and locked door as did so. Rolo and Nyma were in there right now. Keithek still wasn't sure how he felt about them. He could understand how they became who and what they were, but that didn't mean they been in the right.

The moment they kidnapped Shiro and Allura, Keithek had begun viewing them as threats. Shiro had become a sort of big brother figure to Keithek, despite the amusement Keithek derived from calling Shiro Space Dad. He didn't bother to smother the chuckle that bubbled up from his chest when he thought of that nickname.

He stepped into the lift intending to ride up to the deck of the Castle where the paladin's bedrooms were located. However, when the lift doors opened he was surprised to see Pidge standing there in her casual clothes.

"Hey," she said, sounding tired. "Going up?"

Keithek nodded and stepped in the lift next to the green paladin. "I need a shower," he muttered.

Pidge's nose scrunched and she waved a hand in front of her face as if to keep away a bad smell. "Yeah, I was going to talk to you about that," she said.

Keithek rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"I'm just kidding," she teased. "Well, you do smell but not that bad."

He huffed and leaned back against the back of lift, crossing his arms in tired amusement.

"You know," Pidge said, "I was up on the bridge earlier."

Keithek hummed.

"You know, looking through the systems 'cause I was bored."

Keithek hummed.

"And I happened to notice that Lance was on the holodeck. Alone."

"Really?" he asked.

Pidge nodded. "Yeah. 'Course," she added, "you didn't hear that from me."

The lift doors slid open on the level where the paladin's bedrooms were located and stepped out. "Go get 'em Fido," she tossed over her shoulder just as she pushed in the command to send the lift to the holodeck.

Keithek stared at Pidge's smug face even after the lift doors closed and the lift began moving again. What was that? Pidge knew his name wasn't 'Fido.' What kind of name was that anyway? He shook his head. Humans had the oddest sense of humor.

Although, he thought when the lift doors slid open again, this time on the deck with the holodeck, this could be his chance to talk to Lance alone. He strolled down the hall to the holodeck and waved his hand over the access panel. When the single door slid open, he moved to step inside but froze when he looked up and actually took in the scene inside.

The landscape spread out before him was alien and nothing like he had ever seen before. It was similar to Arus, but so vastly different as have no comparison. He took one hesitant step out into a field of grass speckled by flowers with bright red petals and distinctive yellow stamens. The field was on a ridge line that had a steep slope downward to the right and steep climb to what looked like a stone city on the left.

He was surrounded by tall, craggy mountains in all direction. Some were capped with snow, others not. Clouds flowed over ridge lines into the valleys far, far below. The sky above was caught in a breathtaking sunset. Stars sparkling in the darker part of the sky amidst the two, stark white rings that Keithek doubted were natural. Overall, it was an almost fantastical place.

Altea. The realization hit him like a punch to the gut. This was Altea.

"Keith?"

Lance's voice startled him out of his thoughts. Keithek slammed his open mouth shut and blushed a deep burgundy which he hoped wasn't visible to Lance's Altean eyes in the dim light. He felt like an intruder on a very private moment and felt the urge to run. That feeling only solidified into something more immediate when a spectral image of a tall man in white armor flickered into existence behind Lance.

The spectre had white hair that was longer in the back than in the front similar to Keithek's personal style. A neatly trimmed beard and mustache of thick white hair framed the man's mouth. The white made the man glow iridescently in the darkness of the holodeck scenery. The man's skin was the dark like Lance's, contrasting starkly against the white hair and armor. The man carried himself with a regal grace that reminded Keithek of Allura.

"I…I'm sorry," Keithek said, his gold and violet eyes flickering between Lance and the spectral man hesitantly. "I thought you were alone."

Lance's entire demeanor drooped and Keithek immediately regretted his words. He opened his mouth to speak once more when the spectre beat him to it.

"Ah, you must be Keith," the man said, stepping forward so he stood shoulder to shoulder with Lance. "I'm Alfor, Lance's father. I've heard much about you from my children but it is a pleasure to finally meet you in person."

The longer the man spoke, the paler Keithek's face got. Alfor. _King_ Alfor. Well frell.

"It, uh, I'm sorry," Keithek said, stumbling backwards. "I didn't realize you two were… I'll leave."

He turned to leave when a call of "Wait!" stopped him in his tracks. He looked cautiously over his shoulder just in time to see Lance place a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't leave," Lance said. "It's alright."

Keithek studied his mate's face and noticed something unusual. The bandage that he had grown accustomed to seeing on Lance's face was gone leaving the full extent of the damage Sendak had inflicted on his mate open for all to see. He must have made some expression of horror because Lance's lone eye widened and he quickly covered his wounded eye with his hands. That was unacceptable.

Keithek grabbed Lance's hand with one of his hand pulled it gently but insistently away from the wound. It may have been dark, but Keithek was half Galra and was grateful for his night vision during times like these. He saw the deep flush in Lance's cheeks, the pale scar slicing clean through the blue eye scale at the corner of the empty socket, and the limp eyelid. He wasn't disgusted by it. It horrified him, but only because it symbolized his failure to protect his mate.

He carefully leaned forward and placed a feather light kiss on his mate's damaged eye scale. He felt the subtle movement Lance made away from him, the sudden shaky hiss of a sigh, and the twitch of muscles in the wrist he still held in his grip.

"It doesn't deter me," he murmured, his lips brushing Lance's skin. "It never will."

"It feels strange," Lance whispered back, reaching up to clutch Keithek's arm with his free hand.

"Bad?" Keithek ventured.

Lance's face twitched negatively. "No," he said aloud. "Just…strange."

"You have felt nothing but pain since I've known you," Keithek said, his breath ghosting over his mate's skin. "If you would allow me, I could show you pleasure."

Lance was silent for a tick too long and Keithek began to question whether he'd moved to quickly when an unexpected voice spoke, abruptly reminding him that they were not alone.

"Go, Lance," King Alfor said.

Lance stepped back from Keithek's almost embrace and cast his gaze to his father. Alfor stood where Lance had left him, a lone spirit floating in the twilight of a lost world.

"I'll be here when you return," Alfor said, smiling fondly at his son.

Lance hesitated for a tick before nodding. "I'll be back soon," he said. "Father," he called when Alfor began to fade away, "thank you."

The hologram of Lance's Father smiled and faded, leaving both paladins alone on a memory of a hillside long lost to dreams.

* * *

The walk back to his room was quiet, but not in an uncomfortable way. When they stepped out of the lift to and into the hallway their bedrooms were on, Keithek tightened his grip on Lance's wrist. He hadn't let it go since he'd grabbed it in the holodeck and he didn't want to release it now. Instead, he guided the prince to his room.

When they stood in front of Lance's room, Keithek waited for his mate to unlock the door and step inside before following. The lights came on briefly before Lance turned them off using a panel on the wall. The prince's chambers were larger than the paladins' but the main difference was the bed. Where the paladins had bunks set into the walls surrounded by storage units, the prince's bed was large and spacious and bordered at the head by a view screen that showed the Balmeran night sky.

Lance didn't pause to appreciate the view. He simply began removing his outer jacket and unbuttoning his shirt. Keithek never looked away and Lance never asked him to. Lance was Keithek's mate. Nothing Lance could do would change that.

When the deep blue jacket hung loosely from Lance's shoulders and the buttons of his white undershirt were undone, he turned to Keithek. The swirling green of the aurora borealis against the blue-black of the night sky in the view screen formed a halo around the prince's body.

"You said you would show me pleasure," he said, his lone blue eyes glowing with an almost holy light.

Keithek nodded. "If you allow me," he said, unable to look away from the Altean.

Lance faced Keithek fully and it became incredibly difficult for the halfbreed to tear his eyes away from the dark expanse of his mate's bare chest.

"I can't give you much I'm afraid," Lance said softly. "There's a reason why my people ate juniberries so much after all." He huffed a laugh that never fully reached his eye. "But I'm willing to try, if you can show me that is."

"Is that a challenge?" Keithek asked, watching his mate approach slowly until they were close enough to breathe the same air.

"I don't know," Lance said, his gaze flicking briefly to Keithek's lips before returning to the halfbreed's eyes. "Is it?"

Keithek smiled and reached up to cup his mate's cheek, weaving his fingers through Lance's dark brown hair. He found he loved the way Lance closed his eye and tilted his head into the touch, nuzzling Keithek's palm. Lance's skin was chill to the touch, something Keithek was still getting used to.

"I'll take that as a 'yes,'" Keithek whispered, resting his other hand on Lance's neck just over his Mark.

He leaned forward and brushed his lips over the scar leading to Lance's empty eye socket. His ears twitched, catching the flutter in his mate's breathing. He kissed up the place scar until he reached the eye scale. He still wasn't sure what purpose the scales served, but when he caressed it lightly with his tongue he decided he loved them.

The instant Keithek's tongue touched the damaged scale, Lance gasped and grabbed Keithek's shirt with his fists. His body twitched back but then leaned forward. His breathing became unsteady puffs that tickled Keithek's ears.

"Does it hurt?" Keithek asked against his mate's skin.

"N-no," Lance breathed. "Just…strange."

"Do you want me to stop?"

"No." Lance tightened his grip on Keithek's shirt. "Don't stop."

Keithek smiled, pressing a kiss against the scale before dragging his tongue over the smooth surface once more. His ears twitched as he listened to his mate's breathing, taking note of what movement caused what reaction. However, the whimper Lance let out when Keithek suckled the scale was his favorite.

He slowly moved his lips away from the scale, along the scar, to Lance's hairline, then up to the dark, pointed ear. He nipped the lobe but didn't linger. There was somewhere else that needed his attention more, even if Lance didn't think so. He chuckled at his mate's whine but continued kissing along Lance's jawline and down the side of his neck. The hand still tangled in Lance's hair gently tugged the prince's head back so Keithek could have easier access to the delicious skin. Lance sighed when Keithek pushed his undershirt and jack off his shoulder so he could kiss his Mark.

"Let me make love to you," Keithek whispered against the Mark. "Let me give you pleasure. Let me fill you until you can't take anymore. Let me make you mine. Let me claim you."

Keithek could see the artery in his mate's neck pulse with every heartbeat. He could hear every stuttering breath, feel his clothes twist in Lance's grip, and smell the musk, sweat, and the faint scent of smoke from his mate. He wanted to devour Lance slowly until the prince screamed could think of nothing but the hedonism he was drowning in. There would be time for that later though. For now, Keithek just wanted to take his time, tasting and touching everywhere until Lance forgot his own name.

He felt wetness on his hand holding Lance's cheek and almost pulled away to ask what was wrong. But when soft lips touched his thumb, he stayed still.

"I'm yours," Lance whispered.

 _Mine._

The desire to claim, to own took over. He would make Lance his and only his. He would ruin Lance for anyone else.

Lance was the first to step back, guiding Keithek to his bed. Keithek pushed the jacket and undershirt off of Lance's shoulders and suckled the Mark, leaning on his mate until the prince overbalanced backwards, falling onto the soft mattress. He let go of the prince's skin just long enough to allow them both to scoot up so their whole bodies lay on the mattress before leaning down and capturing Lance in a kiss.

It started chaste but didn't stay that way for long. Surprisingly, it was Lance who made the first move, thrusting his tongue into Keithek's mouth. Keithek smirked and nipped the tongue eliciting an offended squeak. Lance glared up at him but closed his eye and sighed when Keithek tilted his head to deepen the kiss.

* * *

Lance tried to move his arms but found them pinned by the clothes he still wore. When Keith pushed his shirt and jacket off of his shoulders, the fabric had fallen down his arms to pool at his elbows. When Lance landed on the bed, his back pinned his clothes to the mattress underneath him restricting his arms' movement. He tried to wriggle free of the makeshift bindings and made a frustrated sound when it didn't work.

"I can't move," he said, breaking the kiss and trying to move his body so his arms could get free of the sleeves.

"I know," Keith said, swallowing Lance's grunt of surprised indignation.

"What… You planned this?" Lance demanded in a whisper, still struggling to free his arms.

"I saw an opportunity and took it," Keith said with a smirk. "You challenged me," he growled, leaned down so he was very much in his mate's personal space. "I can't have you distracting me from claiming you."

Lance flushed a deep red but found his sharp comeback catch in his throat when Keith's hot mouth found his clavicle. He relaxed into the mattress and let his eye fall shut ash he focused on the damp warmth on his chest. He shuddered when sharp teeth teased his skin. This was new and frightening but overwhelmingly addictive. The more he felt, the more he wanted.

He hadn't originally wanted more than for Keith to tease him with his mouth and hands. But now he wanted everything. He wanted everything Keith would give him. So when lips closed around his nipple, his breath caught and he moaned. Teeth grazed the skin, then bit the small buds hard enough to sting followed by intense suckling that was not gentle.

Strangely though, this pain wasn't frightening or unwelcome. It added something to this that Lance expected. Without intended to, his hips bucked into Keith's stomach craving the same attention Keith was devoting to Lance's nipples.

Keith chuckled and it was infuriating and gratifying. However, instead of doing what Lance wanted him to do, Keith released the nipple he'd been abusing and licked a long, slow line down to the Altean's belly. There, he nuzzled the soft, vulnerable skin pressing a kiss to Lance's belly button drawing a whimper from the prince.

Keith took his time with Lance, running his hands up and down the prince's legs, feeling each muscle as he went. As Keith moved farther down to Lance's crotch, the prince managed to push himself up to his elbows so he could watch. His breathing had long since stopped being even and his heartbeat resembled a baby bird's wings fluttering uselessly in the wind, but there was no way he wanted this to end. He watched Keith move down his body slowly, removing his pants and drinking in the taste of him with his tongue and lips and hands as he went.

Lance was Altean. He'd been raised to be no stranger to the art of love. He'd flirted with the men and women in his classes at the Collegium but he'd never gone as far as he knew he would tonight. For the first time since he found out he'd been mated to Keith, that thought didn't scare him. He found himself excited to see where this would go. He wanted this. He _needed_ this.

"Kiss me," he said suddenly, startling his lover.

Lover. The word filled his mind with a desire that made his bones ache and his skin tingle with need. He knew he couldn't Keith's first choice as a mate, be he would wager he was the best choice. He hoped he was. The look in Keith's eyes when he heard Lance command him to kiss him was filled with a fire that matched the heat of his skin and Lance loved it.

Keith's violet irises were almost nonexistent from how wide his pupils had become against the gold. They were twin spheres of endless darkness that Lance found beautiful. If only he could free his arms so he could take Keith's face in his hands and kiss him until they were both breathless and needy.

The kiss didn't come the way Lance expected, but he wasn't necessarily upset by this. Watching Keith kiss his inner thigh while holding his gaze was erotic, even if the mark he left wound sting for a while and bruise. Keith slowly pushed himself up the prince's body until their faces were even and he could finally kiss Lance properly.

Keith allowed his full body weight to rest fully on Lance's chest encouraging him to fall back to the bed. Unfortunately, when he did fall back he found his arms had somehow slipped farther into his sleeves which were still pinned beneath his back limiting his movements. He wanted to hold Keith, keep him close, leave his own marks on the halfbreed's back.

Then a hand trailed a finger down tantalizingly close to Lance's penis. The prince's whole body twitched startling a whimper from him that Keith swallowed in a deep, distracting kiss. The hand moved, squeezing and rubbing the skin around where Lance wanted him to touch, encouraging the prince to roll his hips up into the attention. Slowly, bit by bit, Keith worked his hand closer until he could finally hold the prince's penis in his hand. Keith's hand was a fire that burned Lance's skin deliciously. Lance wanted that heat all over him as soon as possible.

"Keith," Lance murmured breathlessly.

Keith squeezed him and began pumping him, slowly gaining speed until Lance was gasping and his legs were shaking from the pleasure. His hips bucked into Keith's hand while his mouth was plundered by his lover's. The cold from Lance's bond with the Blue Lion still pooled in his chest; but the more Keith touched him, the more he felt the cold retreat until he was slick with sweat.

"More," he begged between kisses. "More. Keith."

Keith growled and squeezed Lance harder than he had before and stopped moving startling a pained cry from the Altean whose legs were shaking from desire.

"One day," Keith whispered in Lance's ear, "I'll flip you over and claim you until you scream." Lance shuddered with want. "But not tonight. Tonight, I want you to feel every bit of me as I make love to you slowly."

"Yes. Yes," Lance pleaded, lifting his legs and looping them around Keith's so their hips pressed against each other.

"I'll knot," Keith warned.

Oh quiznack. "Just take off your clothes and fuck me already," Lance demanded, startling a laugh from his lover.

Keith sat back just long enough to completely undress so they could finally lay skin on skin. Everywhere Keith touched burned Lance like fire, but he wanted more. Lance wriggled his body trying to free one of his arms but Keith planted one of his hands on the arm Lance almost freed and held it in place.

"Did I say you could get free?" he said.

Lance blushed but refused to back down. "I told you once, you will never control me," he said. Keith's eyes narrowed. "I said if you wanted me to submit, you would have to make me."

A dark smile that did things to Lance's heart spread over Keith's face. "You're mine," Keith growled, his ears flicking full forward and his eyes gleaming gold and black in the darkness. _"Mine."_

"Prove it," Lance challenged.

Keith growled and thrust three of his fingers into Lance's mouth. "Suck," he ordered.

Just because he could, Lance bit the longest finger lightly earning him a hungry glare before he began sucking them. He never looked away from Keith's face, watching his lover's eyes darken with desire. Lance was the source of Keith's arousal and that sent thrills through his veins.

Sooner than he would have preferred, Keith pulled his fingers out of Lance's mouth. But before Lance could voice a complaint, something prodded his entrance, breaching him slowly. His legs bent, clamping around Keith's body, holding him in place above him. His toes curled and his hips bucked, sucking Keith's finger deeper.

Keith purred and nuzzled Lance's throat as he moved his fingers in and out of his mate's body. Finally, when Lance began moving his hips freely in time with his thrusts, Keith removed his fingers. Lance whined and squirmed at the loss earning him a smile.

"You aren't Galra so this way hurt," Keith said, pressing a kiss to Lance's neck. "If you want me to stop, tell me."

"Stop and I'll kill you," Lance hissed earning him a chuckle and nip for his trouble.

Thankfully, Keith took Lance's words to heart. He pulled away long enough to spit on his hand presumably to use as lube. Lance's face scrunched in disgust. "We're going to get proper lubricant next time because you are not doing that in front of me again," he said.

Keith snickered and swallowed Lance's indignation with a kiss. The next moment, Lance couldn't focus on anything but the pressure at his hole, pushing inside, stretching him wide open. Keith growled into the kiss and Lance shuddered. It burned but Keith held blessedly still once he was fully seated inside Lance's body. It took a full teck for Lance to take a shuddering breath and nod for Keith to move.

Keith didn't move very much as rock back and forth in slow, shallow thrusts that drove Lance mad with desire. It was painful but perfect, especially when Keith shifted positions and hit…right…there.

"Ah!"

It hadn't been deliberate, but the sudden pressure on that one spot inside of him caught Lance by surprise. Keith growled and increased his rhythm, pulling out slightly farther before thrusting back in with more force. It felt like Lance's body was on fire from the inside out, melting the cold deep in his core. Each thrust drew out a pleasured cry until Lance was shaking and whimpering wishing he could come.

"Frak, Lance," Keith hissed. "Never do this with anyone but me," he commanded, feeling his climax come closer with every thrust and pleasured cry that rang like music in his ears. _"No one_ but me. You're mine and I do _not_ share."

Lance sighed and let his head fall back, baring his throat to Keith in submission. "Yours, Keithek," he whispered

Keith growled and bit down on the offered neck as he came. Lance moaned as another fire filled him from within, this one a liquid fire that brought with it immense pleasure. Then Keith began to swell inside of him and the pain returned. Knotting. Keith was knotting.

A soft purr filled his ears and he smiled, opening his eye. Keith's entire body was tight with tension until the bulge of his knot stopped growing, only then did he slump limply on Lance's body. Lance used the opportunity to finally work one of his arms free from its cloth bindings and began drawing mindless designs on his lover's back, easing him down from the hypersensitive state he was in.

The green lights dancing in the Balmeran sky acted as a lullaby, soothing the lovers tied together in the darkness. Lance lost track of time waiting for Keith's knot to return to its natural size. When Keith could finally pull out, he fell asleep almost immediately. It was adorable and Lance longed to stay and cuddle with his lover until long past dawn. But there were things to be done and a spy network to reestablish.

Besides, he didn't want his new lover to wake up and ask why he never got hard. It was best to just let Keith sleep and forget Lance's discomfort. Besides, there wasn't much either of them could do. It couldn't really be expected for a people known to regularly eat a poisonous plant on a daily basis for practically the entirety of their existence and experience no side effects when that plant was no longer within reach. Symbiotic relationships didn't work that.


	49. PART 2 - 49: Final Exchange

**A/N:** Well, this is it. This is the last chapter of _Chill_ on AO3 or _Part 2_ if you're reading on this site. The next chapter will be the first chapter of _Part 3_ on Fanfiction book 3 of the _Warmth_ series titled _Crystal_.

As usual, I've given this a once over but I'll edit it more seriously tomorrow when I'm awake. Otherwise, good night lovelies and enjoy~ **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Lance takes the first steps to weaving his web resulting in a leap of faith, all under the watchful eye of... **  
**

* * *

 **49: Final Exchange**

The shower was a relief and a curse. The water was cold, settling his core temperature back to where it belonged now that the Blue Lion's power flowed through him. He had begun to grow accustomed to his lower body temperature over the past few turns. It made him more susceptible to the heat, but more tolerant of the cold.

Unfortunately, his lover was the Red Lion's paladin which meant Keith's body temperature was higher than what was typical for a Galra or even a halfbreed. Touching skin on skin was a study in sensation. It was addicting and Lance was beginning to crave it.

As it was, Lance's body was slowly recovering from overheating and the lovemaking session from tecks earlier. He wrapped his arms around himself and leaned back against the cold shower walls feeling the freezing water tumble down over his body until he shivered. Only then did he turn off the water and step out to dry himself off. His clothes were as clean as they could be after yet another round in the cleanser. He was really getting sick and tired of wearing the same clothes every day.

Reluctantly, he pulled his clothes back on, taking care to look presentable. If he was going to convince them to work with him, then he had to look the part. He studied his appearance in the mirror for several ticks before sighing and looking away. The scar from his empty eye socket would never go away entirely. It would remain a constant reminder of Sendak and the awful truth he'd spoken. It hadn't all been true, but it had been close enough to frighten Lance to the point he'd froze up, unable to even run.

Disgusted with himself, Lance focused his attention on his clothes and noticed something that surprised him. A dark mark was blossoming on the side of his neck. He pulled the collar of his shirt down and felt a strange fascination when he saw the hickey just above the mated Mark. He'd known about the marks on his chest and legs, but not the ones one his neck. The hickey just above his Mark couldn't be hidden by his shirt collar. It was too high up his neck.

So why hide it?

Lance released the fabric of his shirt and watched it settle on his shoulders so the mate Mark and the hickey were visible. He could get used to this. There was no reason to be ashamed of his lover or the marks his lover left on him. If anything, Lance wanted everyone to know he was taken. He looked forward to when Keith kept his promise to claim him hard. Lance may not be able to join his lover at the climax, but he still wanted to feel that amazing bond again.

Satisfied, Lance walked out of the bathing room into his bedroom, the light turning off behind him automatically. Keith was still sprawled out on Lance's bed snoring softly. Unable to resist, Lance moved to his bedside and sat on his mattress. The view screen still showed the Balmeran night sky but the aurora borealis was beginning to fade away leaving the room darker than before. The soft starlight and fading green aurora cast a soothing glow into the room.

Lance's body still ached from his lover's knot and probably would for a while, but it was a reminder that he had someone to call his now. He leaned down and pressed his lips to his sleeping lover's temple breathing in the scent that was unique to Keith. His nose wrinkled when he picked up the smell of sex too and sighed. He would have to clean his sheets tomorrow. I didn't regret it though. Keith was worth it.

He leaned back and noticed the fluffy ear right in front of his face. Smirking to himself, he leaned forward and kissed the tip of the ear, laughing softly when it twitched. Just to be a tease, he nipped the silky ear, worrying the flesh gently between his teeth. He only let go when he heard a faint rumbling purr from Keith. It was adorable and tempted him to stay.

But he couldn't. He had to do this now. Reluctantly, he sat up and stood, making his way to the door. With one last look over his shoulder, he stepped out into the hall and made his way to the guest bedroom.

* * *

Nyma sat at the edge of the bed staring at the view screen that served as the room's window. It was black outside with the hint of green light peeking from the top of the screen. She would have enjoyed seeing an aurora. Unfortunately, it looked like this bedroom was on the wrong side of the Castle to get a good view.

She was lost in thought when a quiet beep startled her back to the present. She spun around just in time to see the door to her room slide open. She stood and reached for her knife, letting out a huff of frustration when she remembered it had been taken from her. Rolo sat up from the bed where he'd been napping and leaned back on his elbows.

"I rarely get night visitors unless they're paid night workers," Rolo said.

The person at the door snorted derisively and moved over to the view screen. As he came closer, the light from the view screen lit his face and Nyma relaxed her stance. The prince wouldn't come to them in the middle of the night unless he had a good reason. For a good while, Lance said nothing, just stared out at the simulated night. When he did finally speak, his voice was quiet and serious.

"Normally, I kill people for trying to hurt my sister," he said.

Nyma tensed and she could sense Rolo shifting to a position that he would allow him to stand quicker.

"But I'd rather not do that right now," the prince continued. "While I still hold a grudge for that and for keeping me away from Allura. I understand you were acting under my sister's orders for the second act. That said, I'm sure you had your reasons for the first act, no matter how offensive I'd probably find them."

Nyma sneered. "Don't talk down to us," she said. "No offense, but you don't know anything about us."

The prince shrugged. "I'm not trying to talk down to you," he said. "I'm speaking plainly. You're right, I don't know you but I'm willing to work with you if you'll allow it."

Now Rolo sat up completely. "What do you mean?" he asked suspiciously.

"My guess is you were telling the truth when you said you were fighting against the Galra," Lance said, "but you lost your determination and will to continue somewhere along the line."

"More or less," Rolo said slowly. "But that's not uncommon."

"Is there a resistance?" the prince asked bluntly.

"Against the Galra?" Rolo asked. Lance nodded and Rolo shook his head. "Yeah, I imagine there is."

"Rolo," Lance said sharply. "I won't talk down to you if you don't talk down to me. Is there or is there not a resistance?"

"Why do you want to know?" Nyma shot back. "You're a drug addict. The last thing the resistance needs, if there is one at all, is a drug addict."

"A drug addict?" Lance repeated in confusion, turning to face the traders fully. "I'm not a drug addict. What gave you that idea?"

For the first time, Nyma and Rolo saw the full extent of the damage to Lance's right eye. It was sobering but nothing they hadn't seen before. Wounds like that were unfortunately commonplace in the Galra Empire. Nevertheless, it wouldn't gain the prince any points in sympathy from them.

"Nevermind," Lance said, shaking his head and glancing back at the view screen. "That's not why I'm here."

"Yes," Nyma said. "Why are you here exactly?"

"I want you to spy for me," the prince said simply.

"What?" Nyma gasped, completely thrown.

"Spy? Rolo repeated, equally confused. "We barely even know you. Besides, we value our lives too much to do something stupid like that."

"I understand if you don't give me an answer right away," Lance said. "But I'd prefer it if you did. I've been out of the loop for a while now and I need to know what's happening in the empire in order to help my sister decide where to strike next and where to avoid. Every empire has a weakness-"

"Not the Galra Empire," Rolo said grimly.

 _"Every_ empire," Lance said again, "has a weakness. Trust me, I've seen enough to know that for certain."

Rolo snorted. "Yeah, now I know you're lying. There is only one empire: the Galra Empire."

Lance shrugged. "You probably wouldn't believe the truth even if I told it to you," he said. "The point is politics breeds deceit and weakness. The Galra value strength and the pureness of their race even to the point of discriminating against halfbreeds and any they deem not pure enough to meet their standards of a 'true Galra.'"

Rolo glanced at Nyma who shrugged minutely. "We're listening," he said turning back to Lance.

"I'll pay you for the information you give me with what I can," Lance said. "All I'm asking is that you tell me if something happens. Anything from trade routes getting rerouted, a Galra battlecruiser being seen in a typically quiet area, if a gladiator fight is scheduled to take place, anything of use."

"And what will you use to pay us if we agree, which we haven't yet?" Nyma said.

"Healing if you need it," Lance said. "I hear Kadesh pays a high price on the market as well."

Nyma flushed but stayed silent.

"What about currency?" Rolo asked.

Lance shook his head. "I don't have any," he admitted. "I doubt it would be worth anything even if I did. Altean currency is probably no longer in use."

"Altean?!" Rolo gasped, standing in surprise. He narrowed his eyes and actually looked at the young prince in front of him. "Your friend Keithek said that but I didn't really believe him."

Lance's expression closed and he looked away. "He didn't lie," he said. "And he's not my friend. He's my mate."

"He- what?"

"He's my mate," Lance said again. He turned so the light from the view screen hit his neck revealing the Mark there. "And yes, I am Altean. So is my sister and Coran. We were put in stasis during the Great War when Zarkon first betrayed us and declared himself emperor of the known universe."

"But that was-"

"Ten thousand common periods ago, yes I'm aware," Lance said, suddenly looking very unsure and out of place. "That's why I need to know what's going on. I can't keep letting us run headlong and blind into a war zone without taking some precautions. My sister and Coran are all that are left of my race. There won't be any more after us either."

Rolo huffed in disbelief. "You have a mate," he said incredulously. "So sleep with someone who can bear kids. Or let your sister do that."

Lance shook his head. "It doesn't work like that. First off, I don't _let_ Allura do anything. She does what she wants with or without my approval. Secondly, even if we did sleep with someone I wouldn't be able to get them pregnant and she wouldn't be able to get herself pregnant. We're sterile."

"Wha-" Nyma gasped, completely thrown. "Bu- How?"

Lance shrugged. "It's…" He shifted self-consciously. "If you're familiar with Alteans than you must be familiar with the juniberry plant."

Nyma stiffened, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. "Why?"

Lance quirked an eyebrow at her reaction but continued anyway. "Alteans and the juniberry plant have a symbiotic relationship," he said. "Without one, the other can't reproduce. Either way, the end result is the death of the Altean race and of the plant itself. It was our weakness and the Galra knew it."

"From what I understand," Rolo said wryly, "you didn't exactly hide it."

"We had no reason to," Lance said. "We were peaceful by nature and operated as diplomats and peacekeepers mostly. We weren't even a major player in the galactic political field at the time and we were fine with that."

"Then why did the Galra attack you?" Nyma demanded.

Lance shoulders fell. "Because we built Voltron," he said, "and because we had developed a method of using quintessence as weapon."

"The weapon from today," Rolo said, beginning to understand. "He wanted the power."

Lance nodded. "There's that, yes," he said. "There more to it though. Even I don't everything about what happened. You'd have to ask Zarkon himself, if you live long enough and if he's in a good mood."

Rolo rolled his eyes trying to process this. "Well frankly, I'd rather not," he muttered, rubbing his forehead and plopping back down on the bed.

Nyma sighed. "All you want is information?" she asked hesitantly. "I'm not agreeing to anything, but just to be sure that _is_ all you want right? No daring treks into Galra territory or anything? Just report anything we hear?"

"That's all," Lance said.

"And you'll tell us if you hear anything from your end that would benefit us too, right?" she pressed.

"Naturally."

She turned to Rolo who met her eyes for a moment. He seemed to be seriously considering the offer. He silently asked her if she was interested and she tilted her head forward in a minute nod. Rolo sighed.

"Fine, okay, we'll do it," he said. "On the understanding that you use our encrypted frequency to contact us. Nothing else unless it's an absolute emergency. We have to keep our contacts secret too."

"Understood," Lance said. "I'd actually prefer it if you didn't tell me who your contacts were. It's better for all of us that way."

That seemed to ignite a level of trust from the traders. "There is a resistance," Nyma said. "We work as couriers and information brokers for them. Being traders gives us access to lots of rumors and hearsay. People are more comfortable talking to us because we keep our trading to innocuous things with the occasional specialty. No drugs or dangerous merchandise. Food and medicine, yeah. But nothing else like that."

"So you have a good rapport with the masses," Lance said.

"In general, yeah."

"Good." Lance sighed and rubbed his neck, lingering over his Mark. "As a show of good faith, is there anything I can give you right now?"

Rolo leaned back and considered the offer. He glanced and Nyma who leaned against the view screen thoughtfully. She knew how important good faith gifts were; they could make or break a potential partnership. Ask too much and the other party with be hesitant to keep up their end of the bargain. Ask too little and the other party would think they didn't think enough of them. It was a fine line to toe.

"Earlier tonight, your mate asked me to find something for him," Rolo said suddenly. "I said I'd do my best but that I wouldn't bring it to him personally."

Nyma studied the interested expression on Lance's face as her partner spoke.

"I'll get what he asked for," Rolo said, startling Nyma who shot him a stunned look. "I'll even bring it to him in person."

"Rolo-" She fell silent when her best friend held up a hand forestalling her argument. Rolo had better know what he was doing. They didn't deal drugs, ever. It was a personal rule they swore never to break. Why now?

"But only if you give me a sample of your blood," Rolo finished.

"What?" Lance gasped, dumbfounded. "Why would I give you that?"

"You're Altean," Rolo said. "I'm assuming you want me to spread the word that Voltron is back, don't you?" Lance nodded hesitantly. "Okay, then if I have your blood, I can have someone confirm it's legitimate."

Lance hesitated and Nyma felt the trade begin to slip through her fingers. There was no choice. "I know it's a lot," she said, drawing the prince's attention. "But we know someone who knows someone who can confirm whether or not you really are who you say you are and not just some crazy wack-job with delusions of grandeur."

At that Lance snickered at that. "Delusions of... I understand," he said, his amusement fading. "I do. But you need to understand that what you're asking for isn't something I can just hand over."

"Why not?" Rolo pressed.

"Altean technology is genetically locked," Lance said. "Only an Altean can activate and use most of our technology. If I give you my blood, then someone could get a hold of it and clone my genetic code. Imagine how bad that would be, especially if Zarkon or someone loyal to him gets their hands on it."

"Okay," Nyma said. "Then how 'bout your quintessence?"

Lance groaned and ran his hands through his damp hair in growing frustration. "Again, you're asking too much," he said. "My quintessence is worth more than my blood. Any Druid would tell you that."

"You know about the Druids?" Nyma asked.

Lance gave them an annoyed look. "Yes," he said as if speaking to a stupid person. "I studied under them for most of my life. I know what quintessence can be used for and because of that I can tell you my quintessence is the last thing you want floating around the universe without being properly controlled. That's how disasters happen."

"Then seal it in something," Rolo offered. "Even I know the Druids are known for storing raw, I guess it's quintessence now that I think about it, in crystals for later use."

Lance sighed heavily and shook his head. "I'd honestly rather have my blood out there than my quintessence," he said.

"What if we give you some of ours?" Rolo offered.

That made the prince pause, eyeing them cautiously. "What do you mean?" he asked suspiciously.

"I mean we give you a small sample of one of our quintessence in exchange for a sample of yours," Rolo explained. "But if we do that, then the deal to bring what your mate asked for is off."

Lance pursed his lips and crossed his arms. After a teck of careful consideration, he eventually nodded. "Alright," he said. "But just a small sample."

"Alright," Rolo said, holding out his hand to seal the deal.

Lance took it hesitantly. "I'll go get a couple spare storage crystals and come back," he said. "In the meantime, drink some water and get comfortable. Removing even a little bit of someone's quintessence isn't the most pleasant experience and tends to leave people thirsty and tired."

* * *

When Lance returned, he looked between the traders in resignation. "Who am I taking quintessence from?" he asked.

"Me," Nyma said.

Lance nodded and held out two small crystal shards to the trader, one a smoky quartz and the other an orange carnelian. "Pick the one that you feel most drawn to," he instructed.

Nyma studied the two crystals before settling on the orange carnelian shard. "Are you taking the other one?" she asked.

"No. Fluorite tends to work best for me," Lance said pulling a shard of fluorite from his pocket. "Did you get something to drink?" he asked.

"A cup of water, yeah," Nyma answered.

"Then lie down on the bed and I'll start."

"Why does she need to lie down?" Rolo asked, sitting on the mattress anyway while Nyma got comfortable next to him.

"Because, as I said, taking quintessence tends to make people dizzy and tired," Lance said, sitting on the edge of the bed once Nyma was settled in next to Rolo.

"You never mentioned the dizzy part," she said suspiciously.

"Oh, did I forget that part?" Lance said absently. "Not sorry."

Nyma glared at him but remained still. "What will you do with my quintessence?" she asked.

"Quintessence that was originally from something or someone who's still alive will be drawn back to its source," the prince explained. "Hold the shard in your hands over your heart," he instructed.

"I have two hearts," Nyma said.

"Then place your hands as close to the middle of your hearts as you can," Lance said.

She obediently clasped the shard in both of her hands and place them over her upper stomach.

"If I keep the shard with me, then I can contact you directly whenever I need to," the prince said.

"How?" Rolo asked. "Through telepathy or something?"

Lance gave the trader a look of derision. "Hardly. I'll be communicating with your quintessence. Ready?" he asked Nyma.

When Nyma nodded, Lance placed his hand over hers and closed his eye, willing his quintessence to resonate with hers. It took some concentration for him to find the right frequency. But when he did, he felt Nyma's quintessence respond to him. He encouraged a small strand to enter the shard in Nyma's clasped hands, sealing it in place when it obeyed his unspoken command.

When it was finished, he stopped resonating and waited for Nyma to come back to herself. Her pupilless eyes were wide and she was breathing a little harder than she had been before.

"Nyma?" Rolo asked. "You okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. That was…" She nodded. "That was trippy. It's like I was watching myself from outside my body even though I was still here on the bed."

"That's common," Lance said, nodding to them. "You get used to it until you learn to focus on something else."

"Where did you learn this stuff?" Rolo asked curiously.

"The Druids," Lance answered curtly.

Ignoring the dark look Rolo was giving him, Lance pulled out his fluorite shard. He let it settle in the palm of his hand before closing his fingers around it and reached for his quintessence. It answered willingly to his call just like it always had. It resisted when he commanded a small strand to enter the shard, reacting to his hesitance about this. He had to take a deep breath and clear his mind of his resistance before the strand obeyed him, settling comfortably between the crystalline structures inside the shard. Satisfied it would remain where it was, Lance released his hold on his quintessence and relaxed.

"Now what?" Rolo asked.

"Now we exchange our shards and go our separate ways," Lance said, holding out his own shard first. After a moment's hesitation, Nyma held out her own as well and together they took the other's shard. "If you need to contact me for any reason and can't get through using your encrypted frequency, then use this. Understand I may not be able to answer right away," he warned. "But I'll answer as soon as I can."

Nyma nodded and Lance took that as his cue. He stood and strode to the door, pausing before walking out.

"Thank you," he said softly, "for doing this for me. Do me a favor and keep this little meeting to yourselves," he added, tossing a smile over his shoulder. "The last thing I need is for Coran, or worse Allura yelling at me for hours on end."

Then he left without waiting for a reply. Whatever happened after this was anyone's guess. All Lance could do now was wait and watch like the Sentinel he was. If only he knew someone else was watching him. Or Something.


	50. PART 3 - 50: Hint

**A/N:** And so it begins. This is a short chapter because today (Tuesday) was a long day. If you live in the United States, you know why. I'm going to bed now and hide in my blankets.

 **Chapter summary:** In which Iverson makes a choice, mornings are awful, and someone is bored.

* * *

 **50: Hint**

This was the worst part of the job. This was why he'd requested to work with cadets in the first place. Cadets weren't sent out into the field until they were old enough and had the experience needed to keep themselves alive. Losing not one, but two cadets in one night without any explanation from the higher ups was an outrage.

Then there was that unscheduled 'training exercise' that took place just after that meteor struck the ground not far from the Galaxy Garrison's west coast facility. It made no sense and the tight-lipped higher-ups were beginning to piss Commander Malcolm Iverson the fuck off. When he demanded they tell him what happened to his two cadets who were his responsibility to begin with, he'd been told not so politely that sometimes accidents happen, to fuck off, and mind his own business.

They hadn't even let him give the news to the distraught parents who deserved to know what had happened to their babies. No parent deserved to live in that terrible limbo of knowing something had happened to your child but unable to find out what. Many chose to hold out hope that their child lived when, more often than not, that wasn't the case. Those who chose to accept their child's death often suffered for years afterwards. But that aside, no one deserved to live in oblivion going on about their day when their child could be in danger.

When he'd brought up that particular point to the higher-ups, they had given him some bullshit 'classified, need-to-know' only excuse. They all knew something important had happened last night and Iverson was ready to swear up and down that it had something to do with that meteor. If it really was a meteor in the first place.

The flying yellow lion he'd seen the next day lent credence to his doubts and had certainly caught the students' attention. Something as strange and obviously not normal as that couldn't just be swept under the rug. Trying to just threw even more shade on the events from the past week and a half. Several students managed to get videos of the flying lion and uploaded them to the Internet. Naturally the videos were soon removed. But everyone knew that once something was uploaded to the Internet, it could never really be removed.

Thankfully, Iverson had done his damnedest to make a montage of the many videos, reports, and intercepted communiques he could get his hands on. Now he was sitting in a study room at a college with everything he had been able to gather loaded on a flash drive, his laptop open on the table in front of him so his back was to the wall, and waiting for the call that would most likely cost him his livelihood. But this wasn't about him. It was about two cadets who vanished and an attempt to cover up the disappearance. This wasn't how he preferred to get the information out there, but it the only choice he had left.

The video call rang, and he picked up.

* * *

He woke up slowly, taking his time returning to consciousness. It was warm and comfortable here. He was almost certain this wasn't his bed. Suddenly he was fully awake and aware. His body tingled and his mind was slightly foggy from the abrupt awakening but he was clear headed enough to know the sheets and blankets he was currently entangled in were not his.

There was also another body in bed with him. Keithek shifted minutely so he could look down. Messy brown hair and skin a shade or so lighter met his eyes. The sight brought a smile to his face. He couldn't resist the urge to lean down and press a kiss to his mate's hair, loving the scent of Lance. The faintest hint of smoke was still in Lance's hair, but Keith could also smell the prince's shampoo and conditioner. Lance must have taken a shower sometime last night.

Keithek couldn't remember much after pulling out of Lance. He must have fallen asleep. He closed his eyes in shame. That was never what he had intended. He had wanted to curl around his mate and ease him to sleep. But apparently that didn't happen.

He regretted being unable to stay awake to after his first time making love to his own mate. That wasn't something he would remember with pride. But at least he would have the memory of Lance's face engraved in his memory.

His voice wasn't something he'd forget either. Keithek decided he much preferred Lance calling him by his full name in bed. Hearing his name burst from his mate's mouth in the midst of the throws of passion was definitely something he appreciated. He wouldn't mind hearing that again.

Lance shifted then, pressing closer to Keithek's side as if trying to burrow into the red paladin's heat. Keithek smirked and pressed light kisses on Lance's ear, running his free hand down his mate's back. His fingers traced every nob of his mate's spine all the way down to the curve of Lance's bottom.

A faint groan met his ears accompanied by a weak swat. Keithek chuckled and moved his fingers up to the soft skin of Lance's side, drawing formless designs there.

"Good morning," he whispered against his mate's ear.

Again, he was met by another swat and a tired mumble.

"We should get up before your sister sends someone to check on you," Keithek said.

Lance groaned and rolled onto his stomach, burying his face in his pillow. Lance certainly wasn't a morning person, that's for sure. Keithek leaned down so his body covered his mate like a blanket and pressed his lips to the back of Lance's neck, scraping his teeth against the skin.

"Mine," he whispered.

Lance's soft inhale didn't escape his acute hearing, nor did the blush escape his night vision. Come to think of it, it was dark in here. How late was it?

Keithek lifted his gaze to the view screen window and noticed it was turned off. He snickered. So Lance didn't like sunlight in his eyes either. Good to know.

"You need to get up," Keithek said.

"No," Lance mumbled.

"I'll help you."

"Quiznack you."

"You really aren't a morning person, are you?" Keithek teased.

He face promptly met the backside of Lance's hand.

"Alright fine," he grumbled, crawling out of bed. "Stay in bed. But if Allura asked after you, I'll tell her you were too done in to get up."

To Keithek's surprise, Lance didn't rise to the bait like he'd expected. Instead, the prince snuggled deeper into the warm spot Keithek left behind and pulled the blankets tight around him. It was adorable, Keithek shook his head in amusement and got dressed. He would report to the mess hall or wherever Allura or Shiro were and see if he or Lance needed to do anything that day before they left the Balmera.

"Sleep well, Lance," Keithek called.

If a ship wide alarm blared to life a half tock later effectively scaring the prince badly enough to send his tumbling off the bed, Keithek wasn't to blame.

* * *

Shiro stood in front of the cryopod grimly. There was so much they needed to know and the prisoner frozen in stasis in the pod held all the answers they needed. Unfortunately, interrogating the prisoner in using traditional methods wasn't an option. Allura mentioned possibly the memory core technology to extract the prisoner's memories and sift through them like a program on a computer. Coran was against the idea, but he'd been overruled.

Team Voltron needed as much information as they could get right now if they had any hope of making an impact against Zarkon's armies. They were off to a good start, but that wouldn't mean anything if something happened to one of their team members. If they lost just one paladin, then they would be unable to form Voltron. If they lost Allura, then the Lions would be inoperable which, again, meant no Voltron. If they lost Coran, then they would lose their mentor and emotional support.

Shiro had spoken to the princess earlier and she had eventually agreed to fly the Castle of Lions to the vicinity of Earth so the paladins could grab a few essentials. Pidge needed tampons, Hunk was craving food, and Shiro needed coffee. Those reasons alone weren't pressing enough to convince Allura to take them to Earth. But when Shiro explained to her that neither Hunk's family nor Pidge's knew they were alive and well, Allura had demurred and agreed to take them back for a short stop.

Pidge suggested they try to time their visit so it was close to October 31st. Then anyone who saw the Alteans or even Keith wandering around, they wouldn't think much of it with Halloween so close. Shiro had to agree with the logic. Hunk was probably still in the mess hall explaining to the Alteans what Halloween was.

Shiro needed to think. Sendak's sleeping face was just a few feet away from the black paladin. The cryopod's translucent front shell gave Shiro a full view of the Galra commander who had cause Shiro's team so much pain. The memory core they intended to download Sendak's memory into sat dark and useless to the right of the cryopod. When Allura was ready, she would have Coran hook up the device and begin the extraction.

Shiro wasn't sure how he felt about the whole thing. He agreed that they need the information Sendak had, no doubt. But he wasn't sure he liked the idea of Sendak's consciousness being in any way connected to the Castleship, especially with the remnants of the Galra crystal still causing trouble with the Castle's systems. There was no way of knowing how deep the infection went. This was going to be a long trip.

* * *

He was bored beyond belief. There hadn't been a significant skirmish between the weak resistance and the Galra Empire for months. However, since the news of Voltron's reappearance reached his ears, he'd been itching for a fight. He wanted to prove his strength and independence.

Until now, only the Champion had ever caught his interest as a potential challenge. But the Champion had escaped under the watch of Commander Sendak. A pity really. He'd been looking forward to the next arena fight. Perhaps now that this Voltron force was finally beginning to be a problem, the emperor would allow him to try his hand at a different arena.

He popped a berry in his mouth and chewed absently, swallowing the tiny seed. A hand slid down his shoulder and down over his chest just as a pair of breasts pressed against his back. He sipped his drink before handing it to his companion who took it eagerly.

Honestly, their addiction to the concoction disgusted him. But it kept them docile and obedient and that was what was important. He knew better than to let his pets roam free without a collar of some sort restricting their movements. Zarkon had made a mistake appointing Prorok to the position of commander. Prorok was a fool.

Prince Lotor was no fool.


	51. PART 3 - 51: Creaseyite: Organize & Plan

**A/N** **:** I'm crashing early tonight surprise, surprise. It's only 12:30am here. I approve. Much better than the 1:30am thing I've been pulling the past few nights. *groans* Anywho, hope this satisfies y'all's excitement for now. I'll update again tomorrow. ^_^ Until then, enjoy and sleep well~

I'll be using different stones and their meanings, purported uses as my titles for Part 3. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Pidge makes Hunk's ears bleed again and makes a bad pun while Keith teaches Rolo and Nyma a new curse word. **  
**

* * *

 **51: Creaseyite: Organize and Plan**

When Lance stepped onto the bridge rubbing his face in exhaustion, everyone knew something had changed. There was a bounce to the blue paladin's step that hadn't been there before. Or, more accurately, there was a limp in his gait. Pidge took one look at Lance and snickered. She knew exactly what had occurred last night and she wasn't going to let the prince get away with it easily.

"Good morning, Lance," she chirped happily. "Sleep well?"

Lance shot her a side glare with his good eye and grumbled something unintelligible.

"Lance," Allura said before Pidge could take advantage of the situation. "You may be my brother but you're still a paladin of Voltron and as such you need to be ready for an attack whenever it may occur. Everyone else has been here since I set off the alarm."

The prince just grumbled and kept walking, shooting a venomous glare at Pidge when she snickered. The green paladin noticed Shiro's raised eyebrows and made a lewd gesture with her hands that made it very clear what she knew happened last night. The blush on the black paladin's face was definitely worth it. Hunk caught the tail end of Pidge's gesture but got the gist of it. He promptly moaned and starting muttering something about brain bleach.

Keith, the smug bastard that he was, was leaning against the back of his pilot's seat practically undressing Lance with his eyes. Pidge would swear she even noticed the red paladin lick his lips, though it may have been her overactive imagination.

Allura, bless her heart, hadn't noticed the not so subtle eye fucking going on. She was too busy lecturing her brother who wasn't even bothering to pretend to listen to her. His continued ignoring was clearly frustrating the princess.

"Lance, look at me," she commanded, obviously worried. "Are you alright? Are you still tired from last cycle?"

Lance just mumbled something and sank into his pilot chair, curling into a fetal position and closed his eye.

"Lance?" Allura asked, approaching her brother. "What's wrong?" She knelt by her brother's chair and gently rested her hand on Lance's arm. "Lance?"

"'Llura," Lance finally said clearly enough to be understood, "I love you but I hate you right now."

Miffed, Allura stood and planted her fists on her hips. "If this had been an emergency-"

"I would have known you were in trouble and would've come," Lance said. "But seeing as you weren't in trouble and I was trying to get some sleep, I'm mad at you."

"Then next time be up at a decent hour," the princess said.

That's when Pidge lost it. She cackled madly. "I bet he got up way earlier than you did last night princess," she said between laughter.

"Pidge," Shiro hedged. "I don't think-"

"I claimed Lance," Keith declared, earning him a groan from the prince.

"You did _what_ to my baby brother?" Allura shouted, her cheeks flaming red in indignant fury. "Lance," she turned to her brother, "is this true?"

"I'm old enough to make my own decisions," Lance said. "Now please shut your mouth and turn the lights down."

Pidge snorted. "Lance got lanced," she joked.

"Pidge," Hunk said. "You're my friend and my best science bro, but if you make my ears bleed, I may have to hurt you.'"

Pidge snickered and nudged Hunk. "But you gotta admit it's funny," she said, egging her friend on.

"I'm going to go with Hunk on this one," Shiro said. "Pidge, please stop."

"You let Keith claim you?" Allura demanded, crossing her arms. "Lance, you know that-"

"I'm fine," Lance said, moving his hands away from his face and sprawling out in his seat like water. "Just a little sore."

Allura grimaced, and that's when Pidge noticed something unexpected. Pity. Allura felt pity for her brother. Was there something Pidge was missing? You didn't have to like sex, Pidge certainly didn't. She could joke about it, but she thought the deed was just a messy pile of emotions. Not worth her trouble. Didn't mean she couldn't poke fun at her friends for it, though.

Still, pity?

"Wa-" Pidge studied the princess's face closely as Allura spoke. "Was it-"

"I'll tell you later," Lance said, waving his hand tiredly. "When I'm actually awake."

Allura swallowed nervously but nodded. "Okay," she said. "In the meantime," she said louder, turning back to the other paladins, "are we ready to launch?"

"Coran is still walking Rolo and Nyma through the plan," Shiro answered. "They decided to use the Galra shuttle left in the hanger Keith and Lance locked down during yesterday's attack. It's big enough to hold their merchandise from their old ship and its damaged enough for their story of accidental recovery to be believable."

"Good," Allura said. "Hunk, how were the Balmerans?"

"Shay has a communicator so she can call us if the Balmerans need anything," Hunk said, taking a seat in his pilot chair. "I'm going to miss her."

"Well, you know what they say about long distance relationships," Pidge said.

"She is not my girlfriend, Pidge," Hunk said, rolling his eyes. "She's just a rock that I admire. A lot."

"Uhuh, right. Whatever."

"And what about," Allura glanced hesitantly at Lance, "you know who?"

"Sendak," Lance said loudly. "You can say his name, sister. I'm not spun glass."

"I know you're not," the princess said, turning back to look her brother directly in the eye. She didn't flinch from the wound, she just looked sad. "But saying his name makes me want to break something."

Lance blinked then huffed a laugh and leaned back. "Go ahead," he said. "I wouldn't mind. You can start with Pidge."

"Hey!"

"As I was saying," Allura said loudly, cutting off the argument before it began, "What about Sendak, Shiro? You were the last person to check on his status, correct?"

The black paladin nodded, his eyes dark. "Coran told me the memory core is hooked up and ready to begin downloading Sendak's memories," he said. "But I'm not sure letting that bastard's mind anywhere near the Castle's computer systems is a good idea."

"It isn't," Allura said, stepping up to the center platform and placing her hands on the control towers by her sides. "But it's all we can do if we need the information we need to begin our assault in earnest."

"Not necessarily," Lance said, sitting up with a wince. "I've spoken to Rolo and Nyma and they've agreed to report anything we might find useful to me when they can."

"What, you mean like spies?" Hunk asked. "Do they get cool gadgets and stuff? You know, like the kind Q always gives James Bond?"

"Or Carmen and Juni in _Spy Kids,"_ Pidge tossed. "I want me one of those electric gumballs."

"I'd rather keep anything electric away from wet things," Hunk said. "Like my mouth."

"Or Lance's-"

"LALALA PIDGE SHUT UP!"

"Quiznack all of you," Lance groaned. "You're just jealous I got lai-"

"NOT YOU TOO LANCE!"

"-d and you didn't," the prince said, smirking.

Keith just grinned strolled up to his mate, planting a bold kiss on the prince's lips. Lance smiled into the kiss, chuckling when he heard Pidge make an exaggerated sound of disgust. She brought this on herself.

"So, after that very _unneeded_ PDA," Hunk said emphatically, "you were saying something about spies."

"Rolo and Nyma will be my spies," Lance said.

"Excellent," Allura said, smiling brilliantly.

"What are you paying them with?" Shiro asked shrewdly.

"Information," Lance said. "It's an exchange. They tell me if they hear anything about arena battles taking place, slave ships passing by, you get the idea and in exchange I'll give them anything that could help them slip under the Galra's attention."

"Just information?" Shiro asked suspiciously.

Lance shrugged and shifted his arms so Keith could sit on the armrest of his pilot chair before talking. "Yes," Lance said. "They work for the resistance. If we keep them in the loop, we could have an advantage against the Galra."

"There's a resistance?" Allura asked.

"I'm not surprised," Shiro said, drawing the princess's attention. "When I was still under the Galra's control, I heard some of the other gladiators talking about them. Nothing specific, but even if I hadn't heard anything, I'd be surprised if there wasn't a resistance of some sort. There's always a group of people who don't like the current regime for whatever reason."

"True that," Hunk said. "Okay, so there's a rebellion. We're regular rebels in space, guys. Where's the Star Destroyers and AT-ATs when you need them?"

Shiro snorted. "They worked for the wrong team, Hunk," Shiro said. "Don't you mean X-wing fighters and the Millennium Falcon?"

Hunk gave the black paladin a watery smile. "I think I love you," he said.

"What are Star Destroyers?" Allura asked, looking a bit green. "Do they actually…destroy stars?"

"What? No," Hunk said, waving his hands frantically. "It's an Earth thing."

"Your planet has Star Destroyers?" Keith asked, sounding fascinated by the idea.

"No," Pidge said. "Unfortunately."

"We just have great imaginations and can ignore common sense," Hunk said.

"You sound like you're proud of that," Lance said wryly, draping himself over Keith's leg.

Surprisingly, it was Shiro who spoke up next. "In our defense, it was often the things that seemed stupid at the time that turned out to be the best decision later." He shrugged. "Our history's full of that."

"Yeah like that one time we built a nuclear reactor under a college football stadium out of graphite blocks and wood with no moving parts just to see if we could do it first," Pidge said cheerfully.

The three looks of horror from the aliens in the room were enough to make Pidge swell with pride. Probably not the best reaction but she had to admit it was a reaction. One would almost say it a nuclear. She snorted.

* * *

Nyma brushed her thumb over the shard of fluorite in her pocket for the umpteenth time that morning. She knew what she held on an intellectual level, but her mind was still struggling to grasp the idea of holding a part of someone else's soul, for lack of a better word, in her hand. It was mind blowing and made her antsy. She would have to keep the shard with her wherever she went. If she lost it or it got stolen…

That wouldn't happen. She wouldn't let it. Lance had a piece of her soul as well. So if she lost the prince's shard, she had no doubt the prince would destroy her shard. It was a binding trade and she wasn't sure how she felt about it. Until now, she'd only known of Druids who were capable of using magic, or quintessence she'd learned it was called. Finding some else using that power and admitting to studying under the Druids but fighting against the Galra was definitely a recipe for disbelief.

But it was still fascinating and could be beneficial to both parties and a fair trade. No matter what could be said of Rolo and herself, and there were quite a few words out there that would be accurate, they were both traders at heart. The thought of turning down a good trade was almost heartbreaking.

Rolo had just finished the pre-flight check and was preparing their 'recovered' Galra shuttle for launch from the Castleship's pod hanger bay. The red-haired advisor Coran was very helpful, even if he didn't shut up. Coran had also given the traders back their cyber-unit Beezer. Rolo was over the moon with joy to have his mechanical buddy back.

"Nyma," Rolo called, poking his head out of the shuttle.

Nyma looked up from where she was working on checking Beezer's wiring to be sure it wasn't damaged or any bugs had been added while it was out of their hands. Never could be too careful.

"We're ready to go when you are," he said.

She nodded and replaced the wiring. She hadn't found any bugs or anything amiss at all with Beezer's systems. Satisfied, she closed Beezer's back panel and stood, wiping her hands on her baggy pants, pausing when she felt the lump of the prince's shard prod her hand. She looked both ways to be sure Coran was still far enough away to not overhear her conversation and stepped up to Rolo.

"You sure about this?" she asked.

Rolo sighed and glanced at Coran's back, shrugging. "It was a fair trade," he said carefully. "More than fair."

"But?"

"But," Rolo said reluctantly, "I'm not sure…" He bit his lip and considered his words carefully. "I'm not sure how much we should tell the resistance." He glanced significantly at Nyma's pocket. "We're all against the Galra, but… Quite frankly I hate politics."

"I agree," Nyma muttered, doing her best not to brush her fingers against the crystal shard. "Still, a deal's a deal."

Rolo nodded, nibbling his lip. "The halfbreed said Sendak was dead," he said.

"What?" Nyma gasped, quickly lowering her voice. "When did this happen? Why didn't we hear about I earlier?"

Rolo shifted so he leaned against the shuttle's doorway. "The halfbreed said he did it." Rolo shook his head. "I didn't believe him at the time, but then again I didn't believe him about these guys," he nodded to Coran, "being Altean and I think we can safely say that is the truth."

"So you think the part about Sendak being dead is true too," Nyma said. "That would boost the morale of the resistance. Having that bastard knocked out of the playing field is a huge advantage. But if we're going to spread that around, it would probably be best if we had proof of some kind."

"Yeah," Rolo agreed. He opened his mouth to say more when the door to the hanger opened and the halfbreed strode in. "Here to see us off?" Rolo called.

Keith rolled his eyes and walked right past the traders to Coran. "Coran," he said, "Allura's ready to launch. She wants you on the bridge."

The advisor straightened and wiped his hands on a dirty towel. "Well aright," he said. "Don't know why she didn't just call over the speakers though."

"Actually," Rolo said, glancing at Nyma briefly, "we heard you guys defeated Sendak."

"Keith did, yes," Coran said.

"We want to spread the word," Rolo said, noticing the way the halfbreed's gold and violet eyes narrowed. "But we need some sort of proof otherwise no one will believe us."

"Oh," Coran said hesitantly. "Well, he's currently in one of the prison pods and I'd rather no-"

"If anyone asks," Keith said over Coran, "tell them Sendak hurt my mate. So I killed him. Anyone familiar with Galra customs will understand that."

"But is it true?" Rolo asked.

Nyma touched the crystal shard that suddenly felt heavy in her pocket. "The prince's eye," he said. Keith didn't need to answer. His silence was enough. "Are you a Beta or an Alpha?" she asked.

"Alpha," the halfbreed replied.

Nyma nodded. "We'll spread the word. In exchange for that information, you should know Commander Prorok is next in the chain of command after Sendak."

"I'm aware," Keith said. He hesitated, seeming to struggle with something. "My…father works under Prorok."

"You know your father?" Rolo gasped.

"We're close," Keith replied. "Or at least, as close as we can be."

"You got a name?" Rolo asked. Keith just glared and the trader backed off, hands raised in surrender. "Didn't mean to offend," he said. "I was just wondering."

"Coran," Keith said, "the princess needs you."

"Oh. Oh! Yes," Coran said in understanding. "Of course. Safe travels." With a hurried salute, the Altean left the hanger leaving the halfbreed alone with the traders.

"What do you want that couldn't be said in front of Coran?" Nyma demanded suspiciously.

"Don't mention the princess," Keith said.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Don't mention the princess," Keith repeated, coming closer. "To anyone. "No one. Her existence has to be kept a secret at all costs."

"But why?" Rolo asked. "She's the leader of this whole thing, isn't she?"

"She is, but you can't tell anyone about her."

"Why not?" Nyma said. "I need a reason."

Keith glared at her, his ears twitching in annoyance. "Because if the Galra find out she's alive, they'll tear down hell to get her under their control," the halfbreed said fiercely. "They know about her brother, so you can mention him. But she don't know about her. They think she's dead and the longer they think that the better." He rolled his eyes. "As long as Lance doesn't end up that way to, I'll be satisfied."

"If the Galra aren't supposed to know about the princess, then how do they know about the prince?" Rolo asked. "You'd think if they knew bout one, they'd know about the other."

"Not necessarily," Keith said. "The Galra do know about the princess. They just think she's dead. Lance convinced them that he's the one calling the shots now."

"So he's basically painted a target on his back and dropped his pants waiting for some trigger happy Galra to take the bait." Rolo whistled. "That's pretty impressive. Not sure if I should call it brave or stupid, but it sure is somethin'."

"It's idiocy," Keith growled, his ears flattening against his hair. "Brave idiocy."

"What aren't you saying?" Nyma said slowly. "The Galra know about the prince. Great. But how do they know?"

"Because Sendak captured him," Keith said. "And like the loyal fuck Sendak is, he told Zarkon who wants Lance brought to him alive."

"Alive?" Nyma repeated in disbelief.

"I call moonshine," Rolo said, his eyebrows flying up to his hairline incredulously.

"It's no moonshine," Keith hissed. "Lance got it into Zarkon's head that he's the one in charge. Zarkon can't kill him or everything that fucking smeg wants is destroyed."

"But…if the emperor wants him alive, isn't that a good thing?" Rolo asked. "You know, relatively speaking?"

"I said alive. I never said anything about sane," Keith said. "Zarkon will keep Lance alive, but he'll make sure he's forced to submit. You and I both know who Zarkon trusts with that particular duty."

Lotor. The name hung unspoken in the hanger as if shouted by a screeching banshee.

"Okay, no mentioning the princess," Rolo said. "Anything else we need to know?"

Keith backed down, his ears lifting from their flatted position. "Don't be stupid."

Nyma snorted. "Says the halfbreed fighting against half of his parent race while flying around in a giant robot lion."

Keith hesitated, then shrugged. As he turned to leave, he got one last question.

"By the way," Rolo said, "this word you keep using, fuck. What's it mean?"

Keith grinned.


	52. PART 3 - 52: Obsidian

**A/N:** "Teiidae," or whiptail, is a type of lizard indigenous to the Americas. Certain species of the teiidae are all female, with very few exceptions. I'm basing Nyma's species on that lizard because woah, nifty as crap. Seriously, look them up. They're cool.

That said, I'll edit this tomorrow when it isn't 1:45am. Sweet dreams dear readers~ **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which the extraction begins and the royal siblings "talk." **  
**

* * *

 **52: Obsidian - Cools Heated Tempers  
**

Coran reluctantly placed the fourth and final device on the prison pod's translucent surface, pressing the button so the little lights along the edges flashed. Then he turned to the control panel next to the cryopod and opened a view screen which displayed Sendak's vitals. The pod had been programmed to only maintain life signs not heal so the mortal wound Keith had inflicted on the Galra commander was still very obvious through the frosted pod cover.

"I have to warn you," Coran said to his audience, "this technology was not meant to be used this way. It was designed to retain Altean memories, not interrogate prisoners. I have no way of knowing whether this will work and, assuming it does, how long it will take to work. I've never heard of this being used on an unwilling participant."

"I understand your reluctance, Coran," Allura said, placing her hand on her advisor's shoulder. "But this is our chance to get some information about the Galra Empire."

The older Altean gave the princess a look that spoke volumes of how much he did not like this idea. "I'm sure Keith could give us some useful information," Coran argued, "and you already said Lance was reforming his spy network."

"I don't know much actually," Keith said, crossing his arms. "I never held a high rank and even if I did, it would be more for show than anything else. Halfbreeds aren't exactly welcome in the Galra Empire." He glanced at Lance out of the corner of his eye before continuing. "The only halfbreed ever to hold a position of any note is the prince and he was born to it. He didn't achieve it of his own power." He paused thoughtfully. "Actually, no one's sure if he's really a halfbreed or not. We just assume he is."

"Prince?" Lance asked, looking at his mate incredulously. "The prince of what?"

"The Galra Empire," Keith answered. He blinked when he realized he was now the center of attention. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"The Galra Empire has a prince?" Allura demanded, her face pale with shock.

Now Keith was confused. "Yes," he said. "Didn't Shiro tell you? He was the Champion for a year. The prince frequented the arena battles when he wasn't off quelling the pathetic attempts at rebellion."

"Pathetic?" Pidge said.

"Like ours, you mean?" Hunk asked wryly.

Keith just shrugged. "No hard feelings," he said. "But it is just the seven of us, nine if you include Lance's two spies, against an entire empire. Those aren't exactly the best odds."

"You'd be amazed what a small force can be capable of," Shiro said. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, hiding the gleaming metal of his Druid-enhanced hand from sight. "Besides, I don't really remember much of my time under the Galra," he said slowly. "I wish I did, but I don't."

"It's probably best that you don't," Hunk said.

The red paladin shook his head. "I didn't realize," Keith said. "I just thought you didn't want to talk about it so I didn't press."

Shiro nodded with a weak smile. "Thanks I guess," he said.

"But there _is_ a prince?" Coran said.

Keith nodded. "Nasty bastard," Keith sneered. "He doesn't have the best reputation, even among the Galra. But he's respected enough for his strength and prowess in battle that no one will speak out against him. It doesn't help that he's friendly with the Druids."

"I find it hard to believe Zarkon would share power," Lance said. "He never was one to take kindly to that sort of thing."

"You sound like you knew him personally," Pidge said.

"We did," Allura said with a shrug. "He didn't just appear out of nowhere after all. Alteans had dealings with the Galra before Zarkon came to power."

Keith nodded. "Did you even know anyone named Lotor?" he asked.

"No," Allura said, furrowing her brows. She looked at Coran who shook his head.

"Nope, nothing here," the advisor said.

"Am I the only one wondering if Zarkon is the dad?" Hunk asked, raising his hand.

"I bet he is," Pidge muttered.

"He is," Keith confirmed. "Or it's assumed he is. If something ever happens to the emperor, Lotor will take over the throne. But considering no one ever remembers any ruler other than Zarkon, I doubt Lotor will ever get the throne."

"And we're back to wondering how the quiznack Zarkon survived this long in the first place," Lance said mildly.

"Is no one else going to address the elephant in the room?" Pidge said. "You know, like the fact Zarkon had to do the down and dirty with someone to get a son in the first place?"

"If Lotor really _is_ Zarkon's son," Keith said. "I think he is. He's certainly despicable enough. But no one actually knows. Well," he amended, "I bet the Druids know."

"Is the memory core ready?" Allura asked, hoping to divert the conversation back to the reason they were all gathered down here in the first place.

Coran jolted. "Oh! Yes. Yes, it is," he said. "Ready for your command, princess."

Everyone turned to Allura who took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. "Alright," he said more to herself than to anyone else present. "Coran," she said louder, "begin the extraction process."

Coran winced but obediently turned around and began the activation sequence for memory transference. The lights on the four circular devices on the cryopod stopped flashing, settling in a steady glow. However, the memory core tube remained dark.

"Nothing's happening," Hunk said. "Is that okay?"

Coran nodded, scanning the readouts on the view screen in front of him. "It's not unexpected," he said. "Even with a willing participant, memory extraction takes time. With an unwilling participant…" He shook his head. "It could take anywhere from a few tecks to a few cycles."

"Good," Pidge said. "'Cause we need to talk, like now."

"Why?" Shiro asked.

Pidge rolled her eyes. "Dude, these aliens don't know anything about Earth."

"Who're you calling 'aliens'?" Lance grumbled. "This isn't your ship."

The green paladin ignored him and continued. "We really need to give them a rundown of Earth references," Pidge said. "You know lie," she side-eyed Keith, "how to understand our directions when fighting an enemy." Keith flushed. "And what guerrilla tactics are." Both Keith and Lance flushed. "And the importance of Halloween."

"I'm still not sure I understand that holiday," Allura mumbled.

"I've already input the calculations for targeting into the training arena computer with Coran's help," Hunk said. "I figured we could start integrating it into our practices."

"Speaking of," Allura said, smirking.

"You just had to go there Hunk," Pidge muttered. "You just had to."

Shiro snorted. "How 'bout we all get something to eat then get some practicing in," he suggested.

"I'll stay here," Allura said. "Someone should keep an eye on the memory core."

Shiro grimaced. "I'll keep you company," he said.

"I'll be fine on my own," Allura said indignantly.

"Actually, I agree with Shiro," Coran said. "You need rest princess. The Balmeran rejuvenation ceremony took a lot out of you."

"Don't worry," Lance said before Allura could argue. "I'll report the practice results after your rest."

"I-"

"Allura," Lance said.

Finally, Allura sighed in resignation. Her shoulders drooped and she looked thoroughly drained. "I suppose I am tired," she said reluctantly.

"Why don't you go speak to Father," Lance suggested, pulling his sister into a hug. "I'll come check on you when I can."

"What makes you think you're not joining the princess?" Coran said, eyeing the prince.

"What?"

Coran mussed Lance's hair fondly. "You'll be joining her highness for a rest," he said.

"But I'm fine," Lance said, flushing.

"I sincerely doubt that," Coran said. "You resonated with Allura twice last cycle and I'm well aware of the drawbacks of doing that. Not to mention what you and Keith got up to last night."

Lance flushed and sulked.

The princess smiled and held out her hand for her brother. "Come with me?" she asked. "We can visit Father together." She smiled when Lance nodded and took her hand.

"I'll stay then," Shiro said.

"I'll go start cooking lunch then," Hunk said. "Coran, you coming with?"

"Of course," Coran said proudly.

Pidge snickered. "Then I'll go queue up the targeting practice program for the arena."

Keith shifted awkwardly. "I…guess I'll go-"

"Nice try," Pidge said. "You're coming with me. I need someone to make sure my program works before we all use it."

Keith paled, his ears popping straight up in full alert. "I'll pass."

"Pidge smirked. "I don't remember giving you a choice."

"Go on Keith," Lance called from the doorway by his sister. "Unless you think you can't doge Pidge's attacks."

Keith's started, a slow grin stretching across his face. "You'll pay for that," he said.

Lance just shrugged. "Not if you're shot down by Pidge, I won't," he said, disappearing down the hall with his sister.

Hunk took one look at the red paladin's face and booked it out of there dragging Coran along with him. Pidge snorted and strolled out of the room confident Keith would follow right behind her. The red paladin wasn't about to be shown up by his own mate after all.

Shiro watched his friends leave with a soft smile on his face. He really couldn't believe they'd all grown so close in just a little under two weeks. They were practically a family now even though Pidge and Hunk still had family back on Earth. But that wasn't entirely true was it, Shiro thought with a grimace. Pidge's father and brother were still missing and it was all Shiro's fault.

Shiro turned his gaze to Sendak's unconscious form and felt his skin crawl. This one Galra had done so much to hurt his little makeshift family. Shiro could barely grasp what kind of terrible things Zarkon or this Lotor was capable of. Then again, he thought, narrowing his eyes at Sendak, who was to say he couldn't find out more about Zarkon and Lotor.

"I know you can hear me," Shiro said to Sendak's unresponsive body. "You'll tell me what you know eventually. You will. I won't let you or the Galra get away with what you've done."

* * *

"So," Allura said when she and her brother were far enough away from the other as to be alone, "how are you really? Are you alright?"

Lance heaved a sighed. "It was…less than comfortable," he admitted reluctantly. "It felt amazing but… I couldn't…" He trailed away in a noncommittal hum.

Allura nodded, squeezing her brother's hand. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "You know you don't have to do it."

"I know," her brother said. "But I want to. It wasn't all bad and I got to see him come." Lance smiled. "That was worth it."

The princess smiled. "I bet it was," she said. "I'd like that one day."

"Sorry," Lance said, holding up a hand in mock rejection. "Keith already told me he doesn't share."

Allura scoffed and slapped her brother's hand away. "You knew very well that is _not_ what I meant."

Lance snickered. "Of course not, lovely lady. Besides, I think a certain someone would be disappointed if you chose someone else."

As expected, Allura flushed. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Her brother groaned dramatically. "If you're deliberately acting coy, then you're failing horribly sister," he teased.

Allura's smile faded, startling her brother.

"'Llura?" he asked. "You do like him, don't you?"

She bit her lip nervously, and almost immediately knew she'd given too much away. She sighed in resignation as they approached the holodeck, eventually slowing to a stop. "It doesn't really matter whether I like him or not," she said. "It wouldn't be… I can't give him what he deserves."

"How do you know?" Lance asked. "Have you tried asking him?"

"No, and I won't," Allura said firmly. "Neither of us can have children. There's no reason to lead them on. They deserve better."

"Are you saying I'm wrong for not telling Keith?" Lance said, distancing himself from his sister. "He fell asleep almost immediately after sex. If he' stayed awake then he probably would have found out on his own. I couldn't exactly hide in the position I was in. But I didn't want to tell him because it has nothing to do with him."

"He's your mate," Allura said. "He deserves to know."

"It wouldn't make a difference anyway," Lance said. "We're both male and neither of Galran males nor Altean males have the capability to have children. We're not Teiidae like Nyma. Even if we wanted children, neither of us could carry even with the juniberry. You know that."

"But Keith still deserves to know," Allura insisted. "You're his mate. You shouldn't keep him in the dark."

"This coming from someone who won't even tell the person she's interested in she likes him just because she doesn't want him to know she's barren," Lance said.

A sharp slap echoed in the hallway followed by a heavy silence that neither sibling was willing to break. Lance stood still, head turned to the side from the force of his sister's strike, refusing to raise his hand to cradle his sore cheek. Allura glared at him with tears in her eyes, shaking with hurt-fueled fury.

"That," she said finally, "was uncalled for."

"Then don't insult my decisions," Lance said just as softly. "If you choose to ignore your feelings, so be it. But unlike you, I still remember how to feel. I didn't train myself to smother my emotions just to please some other race with niceties. I still remember what it's like to be Altean. Sometimes I wonder if you do."

"I do remember!" Allura shouted. "I remember Alwida and Latif pulling on my dress and dyeing my hair with berry juice just to make me angry. I remember Aldrun listening to be rant about some of the idiotic people I had to deal with. I remember Lauma always being there to calm me when the stress prevented me from shifting my form back to what it should be." Her eyes narrowed. "And I remember you choosing to settle for a less prestigious position when you could have had it all."

"I refused to be told what to do," Lance hissed. "I always have and I always will. No one commands me. Not Father, not the Druids, not Zarkon, not Keith, and not you. I am myself first. I won't compromise that to please someone else. Even if that someone is you, sister."

"Yet you're willing to die for me without any questions asked," Allura said in exasperation.

"I'm your Sentinel," Lance said, throwing his hands in the air. "That's what I'm supposed to do. Die. For you. That's my job. That's who I am. That's what I'm supposed to be. You live, I die. That's how it works. That's how it always will work. You don't have to like, but you can't change it. Our life paths were chosen for us. We didn't exactly have a choice in the matter."

"That's what you think?" Allura gasped. "You think… Don't be stupid Lance. You're not going to die, unless you keep acting like you did last cycle."

"Which time?" Lance snapped. "When you deliberately kept me away from you when you healed the Balmera nearly killing you in the process? Or when you took the quintessence I gave you to fire that weapon? Which time were you referring to? Because the way I see it, if I hadn't been there, you would have died. You can't die, Allura. I'm expendable, you're not."

"You are not expendable!" she shouted. "And that part about the weapon was a low blow."

 _"Life_ is a low blow!" Lance cried. "Or hadn't you noticed we've been handed the short end of the stick here? Even if we win the next fight, there's still always another. Then another then another then another until we either die or we finally win the ridiculous war. Even then, what purpose do we serve?"

"We brought peace to the universe," Allura said.

"Don't give me that diplomatic nonsense," Lance sneered. "If we live long enough and are lucky enough to win this war, then that still won't change the fact that you and I will both die and when Coran dies our entire race will be extinct. Do you understand that, Allura? Extinct. As in, no more. We won't matter. We'll be a footnote in history. If that if we lose. Which is a very real possibility."

"We'll win."

"You can't guarantee that," Lance said, turning away and crossing his arms angrily.

"You're right, I can't," Allura said coldly. "But I will sure as frell try. I'll be quiznacked if I just give up here after we've defeated the Galra enough times to get their attention."

"Ugh, I _hate_ this," Lance groaned, rubbing his face with his hands.

"Well so do I," the princess declared. "I hate this just as much as you do, if not more."

"Oh really?" Lance said, sneering.

"Yes, really," Allura said. "At least I'm trying to do something with my life instead of bemoaning my fate like a certain someone I know."

"Well excuse me if I thought I could vent to someone I trusted," Lance said.

"That wasn't venting, that was yelling," Allura said.

"You were right there doing the same thing and you know it."

"And you're _still_ yelling."

 _"Of course I'm still yelling!"_ Lance shouted furiously. "I don't have any other way of venting."

"Well then find someone else to vent to because I'm not your beating post!" Allura said fiercely. "We're all hurting right now. You're not the only one."

"I'm aware of that," Lance snapped.

"Then act like it," Allura said. "Grow up."

"I am grown up," Lance said, lowering his voice to a cold, steady tone. "I grew up when I watched Alwida's face melt away in front of me while I held her in my arms. I grew up when I heard Mother scream and claw her throat out while trying to save Aldrun. I grew up when I watched everyone I knew and care about die in front of me and I was too scared to move. I grew up that night because the child I was then was too _pathetic_ to do anything when it mattered most."

* * *

 _"Did you enjoy it?"_

* * *

Lance was gasping when he finished even though he hadn't raised his voice once during his tirade. His one eye glittered with unshed tears and his entire body was shaking. Allura wasn't much better. Her tanned face was visibly pale and her eyes were wide and filled with horror.

"You were there?" she whispered. "You said you weren't there. You weren't supposed to be there. Coran said-"

"Coran lied," Lance said curtly. "I saw everything. So don't tell me to grow up, Allura. You may have grown up first on other planets, but I grew up on Altean and that's where my childhood died. On Altea. With my family."

"Lance-"

Lance yanked his sleeve from his sister's grasped and stepped back. "You go talk to Father," he said. "I'm going back to sleep."

"Lance wait," Allura called. "Lance? Lance!"

She moved to give chase only to be stopped by the lift doors closing behind her brother's retreating back. She stood in front of the closed lift doors for several tecks after she knew Lance would have made it back to his bedroom. This was not how she wanted to start the day. This wasn't how she wanted to start anything. She didn't know how to handle this alone.

Father. Father would know what to do.


	53. PART 3 - 53: Phenacite

**A/N:** Sorry I didn't update yesterday or the day before. I found out my dog had terminal cancer on Friday and we put her to sleep on Saturday. We had no idea she had cancer. She was clean when we took her to the vet in July. Then dad took her to the vet last Tuesday because she hurt herself and the doctors found a huge tumor in her abdomen. It was 12 lbs and the size of a football. The chances of her surviving surgery were low and even if they succeeded in removing it, she would have had to go through chemo and that still would have only bought her another year at most. It wouldn't have been much of a life and she was old for her breed.

Her name was Sophie and she was 12 years old. We all came home to love on her Friday afternoon. She was fine when I saw her a couple weeks ago but she could barely stand Friday night and could only manage a single weak wag of her tail Saturday morning. We all stayed with her and loved on her until she fell asleep and didn't wake up. She loved everyone unconditionally and was the most gentle dog I'd ever known. She was an angel to so many people and I miss her so much. I'm crying as I'm writing this dammit.

Sorry to ruin the mood, but yeah... That's been my weekend. Hope yours went better.

BTW, "Merserie" is from the Romanian word for "trade." **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Lance is upset, Shiro is suspicious, and Nyma and Rolo end up the keepers of secrets. **  
**

* * *

 **53: Phenacite - aids with astral travel**

Lance was still fuming when he rounded the corner to his bedroom. He pushed in the access code for his quarters harder than he should have and stalked into the room. This was one of those times he sincerely wished he could slam the door behind him. At most, all he could do was angrily lock the door and lean against it.

The metal was cool against his clothed back, but not quite as cold as his skin was. It felt good. At least the door supported him, even if it was just an inanimate, unfeeling door. He let himself slowly sink down to the floor so his knees pressed against his chest. He wrapped his arms around his knees and rest his nose against his thighs. Hot, angry tears brimmed his eyes, trailing down his cheeks.

It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair to anyone. Honestly, there were times he wondered if his sister knew what exactly was involved in the whole Heir-Sentinel relationship. He knew she did, but the indignant part of him still wondered. Why didn't she just accept their positions and move on with her life?

Frak this place. Frak this war. Frak his father. Frak the Galra. Frak his life. Frak everything.

He just wanted to close his eyes and wake up back on Altea with his mother holding him and telling this was all just a dream. It wasn't real. This wasn't real. This couldn't be real. It was too much weight, too much responsibility. When he accepted his father's title of Sentinel, he'd done so knowing what he was walking into. But no one expected the Galra to rebel and take their fury out on the Alteans. Lance had not been prepared for that.

He definitely hadn't been prepared for the rebellion to become a war that resulted in the loss of Altea and everything Lance ever held dear. Sure, he still had the Castleship and Allura and Coran and Father if he considered the memories of his father familiar. But otherwise he was floundering the ocean with no land in sight. He vaguely wondered if this was what the Humans on board were feeling.

But then again, they were going back to the Humans' home planet now, weren't they? Earth. He'd listened to the other paladins talk about it when they ate together in the mess hall or in between training sessions. It sounded like a nice place to visit, even if it wasn't home.

Home. He just wanted to go home. He wanted to be surrounded by something welcoming and familiar once more. Just for a cycle.

Before he knew it, he was sobbing and shaking. He never felt embarrassed when he realized a while later that mixed in with his tears, he'd been calling for his mother.

* * *

The memory core remained dark even after an hour. Maybe it was longer than an hour, Shiro didn't know. All he knew was that his continuous attempts to get a response from Sendak's unconscious mind were proving to be a study in failure. Coran had said these things could take time even with willing participants. Maybe Shiro should call it a day and take a break. A workout session in the training arena sounded good right about now, if Pidge was finished with it that is.

If Pidge was still busy working on the targeting program with Keith, then it would probably be best if Shiro paid a visit to Allura. The plan, as far as he knew, was to make a wormhole jump to Earth's vicinity this evening or tomorrow morning when Allura was rested enough to handle to power needed to initiate the jump. Judging from what he'd seen of the princess's appearance this morning, he doubted the jump would be made tonight. Both Allura and Lance had seemed extra tired.

Still, he glanced back at Sendak's prison pod, it felt like giving up if he left now. There wasn't much he could do besides wait, but he still felt like he was giving up. He had no way of knowing exactly how long he'd been waiting but when his stomach finally grumbled, he decided to call it a day. He would come back to check in the evening before he went to bed. There was no way he was going to miss the chance to interrogate Sendak.

If he had stayed for another few minutes, he probably would have noticed the faintest trickle of purple energy seep into the memory core branching out into thin threads resembling the roots of an invisible tree.

* * *

Nyma's hand twitched to the fluorite shard in her pocket for the twelfth time since she and Rolo left the Castleship. Yes, she had been counting. She couldn't help it. It felt like a weight on her mind and it tingled when it touched her fingers. There had been a couple time when she could swear she felt something like emotions or snatches of thought when she touched the shard's smooth surface. It was strange.

Right now, she felt something strongly from the shard. It was like a niggling thought in the back of her mind demanding she touch the shard. So she did just that.

 _:Can you hear me?:_

She almost dropped the shard in shock, fumbling with it before gripping it tightly in her palm. "Uh, your highness?" she called cautiously.

 _:It's me,:_ the Altean prince's voice said. _:I wanted to test the connection to be sure it worked.:_

Nyma nodded, leaning back in her chair and staring out the cockpit window. She fiddled with the stone in her hand, pulling it out so she could actually look at it. The watery blue-green of the crystal caught the dim light from the nebula they were currently flying through, revealing a smoky tendril of purple deep within the shard. Something flickered behind the stone and she lowered it to see what had caught her attention.

She almost screamed.

 _:Please don't,:_ the prince said. _:I can hear you perfectly well without you yelling.:_

"Okay," Nyma said slowly. "So… I can see you."

The spectral image of the Altean prince nodded. _:Per say,:_ he said, his voice sounding somewhat distant as if spoken through a tunnel. _:What you see is my quintessence which is why I'm not solid.:_

"Yeah, um, about that," Nyma began, eyeing the prince's hips, faintly disturbed. "You're standing in the dashboard."

Lance lifted an eyebrow. _:The move.:_

"Excuse me?"

 _:Turn around and hold the crystal shard in front of you,:_ he clarified with a roll of his eye. _:My image will move with you.:_

Nyma spun in her chair holding the shard out in front of her as she did so. True to Lance's words, the prince's form moved with her so it now seemed to stand in the empty floor of the cockpit. She leaned back in her chair and hummed. "Interesting," she murmured. "It's like a portable hologram."

 _:Something like that, yes,:_ Lance said with a nod. _:Except only you can see and hear me.:_

"So I'd look like a freak to anyone else," Nyma said.

Lance smirked. _:Basically.:_

"Thanks," Nyma said wryly.

 _:Anytime.:_

Nyma couldn't fight the smirk from spreading across her face at the prince's smug tone. "Okay, your highness," she began.

 _:Lance,:_ the prince said curtly. _:Please. I'm not the prince of much anymore.:_

Oh, right. "Alright then," she corrected herself. "Lance. What do you want? We haven't been away long enough to contact anyone."

 _:I figured as much,:_ he said. _:I just wanted to test the connection to be sure it worked correctly.:_

"Did anyone ever tell you you're a bad liar?" Nyma asked wryly, arching an eyebrow incredulously. She couldn't see the blush that colored the prince's face through the blue tone of the image that washed out all the other colors, but she knew it was there.

 _:Not to my face, no,:_ Lance admitted.

"You're a bad liar," Nyma said.

Curiously, instead of being offended, Lance huffed a laugh. _:I'm not necessarily surprised. I'm not a diplomat.:_

"But you were a prince," Nyma said.

 _:Royalty on Altea isn't what you think it is. Was,:_ Lance corrected, dropping his gaze. _:Wasn't what you think it was.:_

"Okay, so what was it like?" Nyma asked.

 _:It was an elected position,:_ Lance explained. _:The royalty were the ones chosen by the people to represent Altea in official business regarding the Galactic Alliance. We didn't hold much power nor were we a major player in the politics at the time, but we were valuable as diplomats, relief work, and exploration.:_

"Huh." Nyma rolled the fluorite shard I her hand thoughtfully. "So if you didn't want anything, then why call me?"

Lance bowed his head, glancing over his shoulder at something Nyma couldn't see. When he looked back, he looked tired. _:I just needed to talk,:_ he said slowly.

Nyma groaned. "I'm not a therapist, you know," she said.

Lance glared. _:I'm aware of that. But you also aren't one of the six other people on this ship I can talk to.:_

Nyma shrugged. "Okay, yeah, I can understand that," she said. "Ship fever has a tendency to get to the best of us sometimes." She met Lance's eye. "So who did you have a fight with?" she asked shrewdly.

Lance pursed his lips. _:My sister,:_ he said.

Ah. That made sense.

 _:We both said things we meant but didn't mean,:_ Lance said. _:Or we meant them but we never meant to say them out loud.:_

"Isn't that usually how fights go?"

Lance shrugged. He leaned back and crossed his ankles and arms, braced against something she couldn't see. It was strange in a fascinating sort of way. "Do I look like I'm sitting on nothing?" she asked curiously.

 _:I'm aware you're sitting on a chair most likely,:_ Lance said, _:but I can't see it, no. I can only see you. Nothing else.:_

"Huh, interesting," she said. "So if I gave this shard to Rolo," she said, holding up Lance's fluorite shard, "would he see you?"

 _:Maybe,:_ Lance said, tilting his head thoughtfully. _:It probably wouldn't be as clear as you see me, but he should be able to see me.:_

Nyma nodded. "That could be useful," she said, studying the shard. "Is there any way to make this kind of thing without quintessence?"

Lance hummed. _:I don't see why not,:_ he said considering the idea. _:It hasn't been done before as far as I'm aware. But that doesn't mean it can't be done.:_

"Then I guess that means I can give it a try," Nyma said. She grinned. "Hey Beezer," she called to the little cyber-unit keeping an eye on the recovered Galra shuttle's readouts. It beeped when she called it. "Make a note to keep an eye out for possible trades involving holographic and communication devices."

The cyber-unit beeped and went back to holding their course.

"We've recovered what we could from our old ship and are on our way to Meserie at the moment," Nyma said, returning her attention to Lance's image. "It's a busy trading outpost frequented by Black Marketers and legit traders. The Galra have a presence there, but they don't bother enforcing much. Most of them are too involved in the Black Market anyway. Enforcing the law would cause problems for them." She shrugged and waved her free hand mildly. "Besides, as long as they don't enforce, they can keep most of the trade in this quadrant limited to Merserie."

 _:Understandable,:_ Lance said, scratching behind his pointed ear. _:The would know the Black Market can never be totally controlled or shut down. Zarkon was a diplomat himself at one point. He would know better than to try to control the Black Market.:_

"The Galra Emperor was a diplomat?" Nyma said in disbelief. "No way."

Lance nodded. _:He was. That's actually how my sister met him to begin with. He came to Altea with our father as a diplomat for the Galra. We weren't at war with them then, remember. We didn't necessarily agree with them on everything, but we were allies. Zarkon was actually a-:_ He abruptly fell silent, looking away. _:Nothing, nevermind.:_

Well wasn't that interesting.

"Rolo and I will keep our ears open for your mate's requested trade," Nyma said, studying the prince's facial expressions closely.

 _:What did he ask for, if you don't mind me asking?:_

"Nothing, nevermind," Nyma said. Lance blinked then glowered. Nyma just smirked. "Funny how secrets can go both ways, huh?" she teased.

Lance snorted and shook his head.

"Has your sister given you what she traded for yet?" Nyma asked.

 _:If you mean the cybernetic eye, then no, not yet,:_ Lance answered, surprising the trader.

"So you did see that," she murmured.

 _:I figured she was trading for something when she had me get the Kadesh,:_ the prince said with a one shouldered shrug. _:Kadesh isn't something we use often.:_

"Why?" Nyma asked, both of her eyebrows brushing her hairline with interest.

 _:It's not a contraceptive for us,:_ Lance said. _:You'll understand if I say we don't really need that sort of thing.:_

"So I've heard," Nyma said. "It is for Taiidae, but it also helps enhance the sexual experience."

 _:That's what it does for us,:_ Lance said. _:Although, you'll understand why that wouldn't exactly mean much for us now.:_

Nyma nodded grimly. "Tell your mate, we should have some results by tomorrow evening," she said. "Although, it would probably be best if we told him in person, not through you. I'm a trader and I value my client's privacy."

 _:I thought Rolo was the one Keith traded with.:_

"He is," Nyma agreed. "But I'm his partner. I know what they traded for and I'm still bound by customer-trader confidentiality."

Lance furrowed his eyebrows in curiosity. _:Alright. But I'd rather you not use this method,:_ he said eventually, referring to their quintessence communication. _:If I let Keith use your shard, you would understand what I mean.:_

"I would feel it?" she asked nervously.

 _:No,:_ Lance said. _:You wouldn't be able to see him or feel him unless I resonated with him so the quintessence in my shard in your possession would recognize him as a part of me. But he could see you. He couldn't hear you, but he could see you.:_

"That's a little disturbing," Nyma said. "And if I gave your shard to Rolo?"

Lance shook his head. _:He shouldn't be able to use it to talk to me either,:_ Lance said. _:He could see me, but not hear me. I wouldn't be able to see or hear him either.:_

"That explains why you were so hesitant to do this," Nyma said, dropping her gaze to the shard in her hand. "You could easily spy on someone that way."

 _:That's one of the reasons, yes,:_ Lance said.

"Alright, then we'll use our encrypted channel," the Teiidae said firmly. "You have the codes in your system?" Lance nodded. "Then expect a call from us sometime next cycle. Try not to intrude," she warned. "It is a private conversation."

 _:I understand.:_

"Good. Then I'll speak to you later."

Lance nodded and faded away.

"Well that was something."

Nyma turned in her chair to Rolo who stood in the doorway that lead from the shuttle's small bridge to the storage compartment in the back.

"Was that the prince?" Rolo asked.

Nyma nodded. "You couldn't see him, could you?" She wasn't surprised Rolo shook his head.

"Couldn't hear him either," Rolo said. He strolled to his seat at the dashboard and pulled up their travel status. "I finished cataloguing what we have," he said. "It isn't much, but it'll get us through tonight's trade. I'll start looking for a possible juniberry trader when I can."

"You're sure about this?" his partner asked.

Rolo shook his head. "No, I'm not," he answered honestly. "Quite frankly, I hate the idea. But a trade is a trade, after all."

Nyma nodded. "What if the trader is a Galra?" she asked, leaning back in her chair watching her partner fiddle with the controls.

"Let's hope it isn't," Rolo said.

"But if it is?" Nyma pressed.

Her partner sighed and scratched his head. "Then we'll deal with it," he said after a moment. "We aren't actually going to get our hands on the plant, just tell the halfbreed how to get it."

"Unless we want them in our debt," Nyma said off-handedly.

Rolo paused and gave her a considering look. He pressed his lips together in thought. "Think we could pull that off?" he asked carefully.

"Maybe," she hedged. "If we could get away with it without losing our support base."

Rolo nodded. "I'll keep that idea in mind," he murmured. "But first," he pushed in a few buttons, "straight face on."

Nyma immediately sat up and schooled her expression so it gave nothing away. She turned her chair so it faced the front view screen and waited for Rolo to pull up the view screen. When the red-tinged glow of the view screen lit the bridge, Nyma forced herself to relax.

It took a few tecks for the call to go through. When it did, Nyma was glad she was in control of herself. Their contact seemed anything but in control of himself. His purple fur was fluffed out in all directions as if he'd been running his hands through ti continuously. His golden eyes had a shine to them that wasn't exactly something Nyma thought was healthy. Clearly, something had changed on Thace's end that wasn't necessarily for the better.

 _"I can't talk for long,"_ Thace said.

"What's going on?" Rolo demanded, concern obvious on his face.

Thace glanced around him. _"Lotor is here,"_ he said urgently. _"He arrived late last night and is taking over the hunt for the Lions of Voltron."_

"Lotor?!" Rolo cried. He looked at his partner who was just as pale as he was. Rolo licked his lips nervously. "Oh quiznack."

 _"Commander Prorok and I will be attached to the prince's search party,"_ Thace said. _"I'm going to act as the intermediary between Lotor and the emperor."_ He shook his head. _"Apparently, I impressed Zarkon,"_ he said. _"I'm not sure how to deal with this."_

"We can use this," Rolo said, leaning forward eagerly. "If you're close to the emperor, then we could get that much more information to the resistance."

"Speaking of," Nyma said, "we've been in direct contact with the Voltron team. We have a direct connection to one of the members which we can use to trade information from both sides."

 _"Do you trust them?"_ Thace demanded cautiously.

Rolo hesitated and looked at Nyma, She nodded and Rolo answered slowly. "I'd say yes," he answered slowly. "Our contact there… He offered a good faith gift that required more concession on his side then ours."

 _"And this person is your contact?"_ Thace asked. _"You didn't tell him about me, did you?"_

Nyma shook her head. "No," she said aloud. "He told us he didn't want to know the names of any of our contacts."

Thace actually looked surprised by that. "Not at all?"

"No," Nyma said, shaking her head. "He said it would be better for everyone involved if he didn't know. So you'll understand if we keep his identity a secret as well."

 _"No,"_ Thace said quickly. _"If he wants to stay hidden, it's probably for the best. Lotor's on the hunt for someone involved with the Voltron Lions. Apparently, Sendak captured him but he escaped. I don't know the details except that Zarkon wants him alive and unharmed, if possible."_

"Unharmed?" Nyma repeated. "That's…"

"Unusual to say the least," Rolo finished.

 _"Like I said, I don't know much,"_ Thace said. _"I may be close to the emperor, but I'm still only a subcommander. I'll see what I can learn from Lotor but don't count on anything too useful yet."_

"We won't," Rolo said, nodding. "When do you want us to contact you next?"

 _"Don't,"_ Thace said. _"I'll contact you."_

"We'll do," Nyma said.

"One last thing," Rolo said before Thace could cut the communication. "Do you know anyone under Prorok who has a halfbreed son?"

Thace stiffened. _"Why?"_

"We crossed paths with a halfbreed while with the Voltron team," Rolo said. "He mentioned having a father serving under Prorok."

Thace's eyes widened. _"What was his name?"_

Rolo glanced at Nyma so she answered. "Keithek," she said. "But they call him Keith."

Thace buried his face in his hands. _"He's alive,"_ he murmured almost too softly for the communicator to catch.

"You're his father, aren't you," Nyma said. It wasn't a question, but neither she nor Rolo really needed an answer. Thace's reaction was answer enough. "You should know he wouldn't tell us who you were. He wanted to protect you."

Thace chuckled. _"That boy..."_

"He has a mate," Nyma said.

Thace stood ramrod straight in shock. _"A mate?"_ he gasped. _"Who…?"_

"Our contact, actually," Nyma said. "According to Keith, Sendak hurt his mate so Keith killed him."

A smile tugged Thace's lips up in a smile. _"Did he now? Good."_

"Do you want us to tell him about you?" Nyma asked.

Thace hesitated, obviously conflicted. Eventually, his smile faded and he shook his head. _"No,"_ he said. _"It's probably for the best that he doesn't know."_

Nyma winced but a glance at Rolo and they both knew that some things were best kept secret. "Alright then," she said. "We'll pass along the information about Lotor but we won't say anything to Keith."

 _"Thank you,"_ Thace said. _"I'll contact you when I can."_

The traders nodded. "Stay safe, friend," Rolo said. Thace smiled and offered a friendly salute before ending the connection.


	54. PART 3 - 54: Chalcedony

**A/N:** Not as long as my usual chapters but for some reason the Internet has been spotty tonight so I'm uploading this now before I lose connection again. Also, the furnace in our apartment has temporarily failed. The Heat is on and the thermostat is set for 74, but it hasn't gotten above 64. It's cold man. *shivers* **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Allura and her father have a heart-to-heart and Keithek gets a live test of Pidge's new targeting system, whether he likes it or not. **  
**

* * *

 **54: Chalcedony - honesty, alleviates regret  
**

"I just don't understand," Allura said, pulling her legs closer to herself and leaning back on one hand. "He has so much potential, but he just won't acknowledge it. It's like he absolutely refuses to do anything that will help him advance."

"Unless he doesn't want to be noticed in that way," Alfor said, tilting his head to catch his daughter's eyes. "Not everyone enjoys the spotlight, Allura. You tended to gravitate towards that position because it was in your nature. Lance was never one for the interplanetary stage. He preferred to focus his time and energy on Altea. That is not something to be ashamed of."

"I know but if he's capable of so much more, why doesn't he at least try?" Allura demanded. She plucked one of the illusionary juniberry flowers and held it as a comforting gesture. "She should have at least attempted to be a Master Ascender, but he never did. He could have been incredibly powerful if he'd just put his pride aside long enough to see the big picture."

The former king gazed at his daughter sadly. "Was it pride?" he asked. "Or was it something else? Did you ever ask him?"

"It's easy to be a Master Pilot," Allura argued. "There hadn't been a Master Ascender in well over a dozen periods."

"True enough," Alfor agreed. "But if Lance did give in to the pressure begun studying to be a Master Ascender, it would have been unlikely that I would have had the chance to make him your Sentinel."

Allura sat up suddenly. "What?" she gasped. "What do you mean?"

"Had Lance chosen to be a Master Ascender," her father said, "then I would have been forced to give Lauma the title of Sentinel and Lance would have attended the festival that night and died with the others."

The princess blanched and looked down at the flower in her hand. "I didn't…" she whispered. "That's not what I mean."

"I know, Allura," Alfor said gently, "and more importantly, so does Lance."

"He was there, Father," Allura said, bowing her head to hide her gaze. "He said he was there when Mo-Mother died."

The former king's eyes sparkled with unshed tears. "Yes," he murmured. "Coran told me."

"Why didn't he tell _me?"_ Allura asked. "Coran and Lance never lied to me before."

"Because Lance asked him not to," her father said simply. "Your brother broke tradition by attending the festival early. He shouldn't have been there. You know the punishment for breaking tradition like he did."

"Allura hunched in on herself. "Yes," she murmured. "But wouldn't that be overlooked considering wh- what happened?"

"Yes," Alfor said, "and it was. He wasn't punished and his presence there was dismissed."

"By Coran," Allura said.

Alfor nodded. "By him and by me," he said. "I couldn't act fast enough to save my wife," he said, covering his face with his hand. "I wasn't going to let Lance face a similar situation if I could avoid it." He lowered his hand and his daughter saw tears trickling down her father's cheeks. "It feels like losing a part of yourself you never knew was there. Altea hadn't known war for so long that the Sentinels had become lax in our handling of the Heir's protection."

"But," Allura said hesitantly, "you were-"

"Just as guilty as my predecessors," Alfor said. "Had I taken my duty as seriously as I should have, then I would have been there with Lakshmi that night."

"But the Lions needed to be looked after," the princess insisted, scooting closer to her father's memory.

"But that could have waited," her father said gently but firmly. "It should have waited. But I made a decision and dealt with the consequences of my actions."

Allura pressed her lips together, keeping her argument from escaping her mouth. No matter what she said, she wouldn't change her father's mind so she held her silence.

"I had ordered Lance to wait for me at the Collegium," Alfor said. "But he snuck out to the festival to be with Alwida. She had asked Lance to accompany her as her companion before I handed my title over to him. He was keeping his promise to her and it very nearly cost him his life."

Allura blew the delicate petals from the juniberry flower in her hand so their broke free and fluttered away. "He… He accused me of keeping my feelings bottled away because I'm barren," she whispered.

"Ah," her father said, nodding. "Now we reach the heart of the matter. Were his words true, daughter?"

Allura flushed. "I- Partially, yes," she admitted. "But I also do not wish to start a relationship that has very little chance of surviving this war."

"You brother has," Alfor said gently and Allura dropped her gaze.

"He wasn't exactly given a choice in the matter," the princess said. "You know that."

"I do," the former king acknowledged. "But I also know that something has grown from that relationship that is strong enough to convince Lance to lie with his mate. That isn't something to be looked down on."

"I don't look down on it," Allura said shaking her head. "I just wish he wouldn't allow himself to be hurt just because he thinks he's supposed to die."

"He thinks what?" Alfor asked curiously.

"Lance believes he's supposed to die for me," Allura said. "He thinks he's expendable. He isn't. I can't lose him, father. I _can't_ ," she said fiercely. "He's my brother. He's the only family I have left. I love him. I just want what's best for him. I don't want to settle for something less just because he thinks its not worth it or that he doesn't deserve it or that he'll die before he can reach it or whatever excuse his mind keeps coming up with to explain his behavior."

Alfor sighed. "I suppose That will never something you and Lance ever agreed on," he said. "It's unlikely you will ever change his mind. People don't change like that, Allura. That is a life lesson that will always remain true."

"Be that as it may, it still isn't right," Allura insisted.

"Who are you to declare what is and is not right for him?" her father asked. "What may be right for you may not be right for another person. No one person is the same as another. That is both a blessing and a curse."

The princess's shoulders drooped. "I know that," she said softly. "I do know that, Father. But I just…" She sighed. "I only want the best for him. He's my brother. Seeing him refuse to be all that he can be, it… It isn't right."

"No," Alfor admitted. "No, perhaps you're right. But he is happy as he is, is that not so?"

Allura hesitated, lifting her gaze to her father's. "To be honest," she said, "I'm not sure anymore."

"What do you mean?" her father asked, settling into a more comfortable position on the holographic grass.

"Had you asked me that before the Great War, I would have agreed with you," Allura explained. "But now I… I am no longer sure. I'm not sure of many things anymore. It seems like the only familiarity I can find is here in this place," she gazed out at the field that existed in this room and her memory alone. "I no longer recognize the universe I live in anymore. I feel as if I have fallen into an abyss of reality that is so tangled in a nightmarish dream that I can no longer differentiate between them."

The former king of Altea bowed his head in silence.

"I don't blame you for what you did, Father," Allura said, reaching out to touch his semi-solid form. "Truly, I don't."

"You may not, but I do," the king said reluctantly. "I made a decision. Perhaps it was not the best decision, but it was the only option I saw as viable at the time."

"You wanted us to live," Allura said, smiling. "That cannot be faulted."

"No," Alfor agreed. "But my methods perhaps could be. Not a day went by that I did not gaze at your sleeping faces and dream of hearing your voices fill the Castle halls once more. It was too quiet. I often caught myself speaking nonsense just to fill the silence with noise."

The princess shuddered. "Father?" she asked.

"Yes daughter?"

"Do you…" she hesitated, chewing her lip nervously. "Do you think someone will miss us when we're gone? When this war is over and we die or we die before we win, do you think anyone will miss the Altean race?"

The former king grimaced. "I would hope so," he said. "But I don't think we'll know that until it's too late for us to know anything. Although," he added with a quirk of his lips, "perhaps this person you are interested in would miss you." His daughter had the grace to blush and Alfor's smile widened. "Tell me about this person."

"He… His name is Shiro," Allura said. "He's the black paladin." She winced when she saw the tightening around her father's eyes. "The other paladins call him 'Space Dad,'" she said to break her father from his dark thoughts.

It worked. Alfor laughed merrily at the nickname. "Space Dad?" he repeated. "That sounds wonderful."

Allura smiled and began regaling her father with stories of one Takashi Shirogane.

* * *

"How much longer?" Keithed demanded.

"I need to be careful with the calibration, here," Pidge said through the arena's loudspeaker. "You don't want to accidentally get hit, do you?"

"Why do I think you'd enjoy that?" Keithek muttered.

"Because I would," the green paladin said snickering. "But I doubt you would and I don't know about you, but I'm not necessarily in the mood to listen to another lecture from Space Dad."

That…was true. Keithek slipped back into another defensive crouch and held his bayard sword at the ready. "Start training sequence level three," he commanded the A.I. controlling the arena.

A tick later, a computerized gladiator dropped from the ceiling and landed on the ground a span in front of Keithek. It stood and began advancing towards him. He activated his shield with his free arm and counted to three before leaping forward with his sword raised.

The sound of metal clashing against metal rang in his ears and he grinned. This level was a bit of a challenge and Keithek didn't particularly like fighting inanimate objects. They didn't have eyes that gave hints of future movements, muscles that twitched revealing a faint, the loud battle cries of living warriors. The Altean gladiators were silent and cold which made them difficult to read. Keithek could sometimes catch the faintest hint of a rhythm to the gladiator's attacks before it changed things up again leaving Keithek to start his calculations all over again.

At least fighting the gladiator gave him a break from small, swift robots with agile maneuvering ability and shots that stung when they hit. He was getting the hang of Pidge's Earth based targeting system, but he thought it was better suited for a three-dimensional space with open space above and below him. As it was, Keithek had a floor beneath him that prevented him from utilizing that part of the targeting system. But it was apparently mirrored by the area above him just below.

His distracted thoughts cost him a hit that tossed him back so he landed hard on his back. He rolled to absorb the impact and got to his feet, huffing from the force of the blow. He stood and felt his leg ache. Frustrated but not willing to injure himself during something as insignificant as a practice duel, Keithek bit back his pride and surrendered.

"End program," he commanded.

The gladiator began advancing towards him once more. Maybe Pige hadn't heard him.

"End program," Keithek repeated louder.

Now the gladiator was running full speed at him.

"Pidge, end program now!" Keithek cried, raising his bayard blade just in time to deflect a downwards slash that made him buckle under the force. "Pidge!" he shouted.

The gladiator kicked him in the gut and knocked Keithek's bayard from his grip. It clattered to the floor a half span away from him, too far for him to reach. He dropped to his knees to avoid another slash that would have easily cut him in two and scrambled across the floor to his weapon. The gladiator's metal feet thundered across the arena as it gave chase.

Keithek grabbed his bayard but not soon enough to avoid a heavy metal boot to the head. Stunned, he landed hard but forced himself to roll, narrowly avoiding another strike. He heard the whistle of the air as the gladiator's blade swung past his ear. This wasn't a practice duel, he realized. This was serious.

He quickly got to his feet and instantly wobbled, stars bursting across his vision. The blow to his head must have been harder than he thought. He groaned and shook his head, immediately regretting the move when his balance wavered.

"Keith!" Pidge shouted over the speaker. "Twelve o'clock and thirty-fivedegrees up."

Keithek obediently raised his bayard blade to the green paladin's specified direction and brace for impact. The strike was just as hard as the previous blows, but this time Keithek had been ready. He rode the force of the impact backwards before translating it something he could use. He pushed up against the gladiator, knocking it back and slashed from left to right. A ringing clang echoed in the arena indicating he'd made a glancing blow.

"Two and twenty down," Pidge said.

Keithek activated his shield and held it so it blocked the direction his friend indicated. His shoulder tensed, ready for the gladiator's strike. The moment the gladiator struck his shield, Pidge shouted.

"Two and thirty down."

Keithek stabbed forward with his bayard at thirty degrees downwards and felt the gratifying feeling of his blade striking flesh, or whatever the gladiators were made of. He saw the explosion of sparks when the gladiator was defeated and stood up, tossing a glare at the control room where he knew Pidge was. His vision was returning but it the bright light was beginning to hurt his eyes more than it had been before.

"What the frell, Pidge!" he demanded furiously.

"That wasn't me, I swear," Pidge shouted back. She sounded just as distressed as Keithek probably looked. "I have no idea what happened but I swear I didn't do anything."

"Right," the re paladin growled, his ears flattening against his head. "And you just so happened to use your new targeting technique right then. It was just a coincidence."

"I'm telling you, that wasn't me," Pidge said, leaning against the control room's windows overlooking the arena below where Keithek stood. Rover hovered by her shoulder flashing excitedly. "You know we weren't working with the gladiators yet, just the firing drones. This is a program designed for dealing with aerial attacks from above or below, not land-based attacks in hand-to-hand combat."

He huffed but nodded reluctantly. "Whatever," he grumbled, eyeing the empty arena suspiciously. "If it wasn't you, then what was it?"

"No idea," the green paladin said. "I'm running a diagnostic right now to figure that out. It wasn't anything I did, that's for sure."

Keithek deactivated his bayard and began walking to the door.

"Hey," Pidge called. "Where're you doing?"

"I'm calling it," Keithek said. "I'm going to get some food. This Castle obviously has a few glitches that Coran will have to look at. I'll send him over when I get to the kitchen."

"You're just being lazy," Pidge grumbled. "It wasn't that big of a deal."

"That robot just tried to _kill_ me," Keithek snapped. "I'd say that's a big deal."

"You're probably overreacting. You did say to start training at level three," Pidge said, her voice in the speaker sounding like she was distracted by something. "Maybe it interpreted that to mean Level Three Gladiator and not Level Three Target Drone."

"Either way, it still tried to kill me," the halfbreed said. "Look Pidge, this has just been a long day so I'm going to get food. You can come with me or stay here. I'm still going."

"Lazy bones," the green paladin muttered just loud enough for Keithek to hear before the door to the arena slid shut behind him.

Keithek ran a hand through his hair and grimaced when he felt the greasy strands. Lance would probably complain about it if Keithek didn't wash it soon. Oh well. He was sweaty anyway. Might as well take a shower after sending Coran in to help Pidge figure out whatever happened in the training arena and getting a bite to eat.


	55. PART 3 - 55: Iolite

**A/N:** Sorry this is a bit shorter than I'd prefer. I have work tomorrow and have to have an outline for my thesis proposal ready by Thursday. I haven't started... *hides* **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Coran coaxes Lance out of his room and Shiro accidentally sends him back to his room. **  
**

* * *

 **55: Iolite - releases discord**

Coran hesitantly knocked on the door to the princess's room. He wasn't necessarily surprised when he didn't receive an immediate response. Allura was probably sleeping. She should be sleeping anyway. He knocked once more before opening the door and poking his head inside. He had standing permission to enter the royal siblings' rooms at any time though I rarely used that power unless it was important.

The room was dark, which was to be expected, but the princess's bed was empty. A soft squeak from a small jewelry box on the bedside table caught his attention. He smiled fondly when one of the mice that frequently rode on his princess's shoulders poked its head out of the jewelry box with a string of beads dangling from its head.

Chuckling, Coran stepped into the room and strolled over to the mouse, holding out his cupped hands for the mouse to climb into. The big green mouse crawled out of its makeshift bed and slid into Coran's hands, its fur tickling his skin.

"At least someone was doing what they were supposed to do," the advisor said wryly.

The green mouse squeaked and sat up as if asking Coran what he meant.

"Well, my little friend, Allura was supposed to be sleeping here too," Coran said, glancing at the empty bed as he walked back to the hallway. "You wouldn't happen to know where Allura is now, would you?"

The mouse squeaked and affirmative and pointed to the right. Coran's shoulders slumped. "I was afraid of that," he sighed. "How 'bout you and I got put our lady to bed, hmm?"

The mouse squeaked and settled comfortably in Coran's hands bringing a smile to the Altean's face. Coran should have known the princess would be with her father on the holodeck, but he had hoped she would be sleeping. She was still weak from the Balmeran energy exchange, no matter vehemently she wanted to deny it.

Allura wanted to be useful, not just a pretty figurehead. Coran could definitely understand that desire. He struggled with it often himself. He wasn't a paladin or the Sentinel or the Heir. But he was beginning to realize that he still served a purpose for the time. It had taken Shiro sitting with him for hours the other night to help see that.

He doubted Allura had experienced a similar eye-opening moment. She would soon, Coran had no doubt. Everyone in their little team would find their place and settle into it like an egg in a nest. Hopefully, after their visit to the Human's home world Earth, they would all have a better focus in their end goal. They had to defeat Zarkon, find Pidge's family from wherever the Galra had taken them, and free the enslaved worlds from the Galra Empire. Lofty goals to be sure, but Coran firmly believed it was possible. It would just take a while.

As he strode past the prince's room, he paused. He was in the middle of reaching for the access panel when the door hissed open revealing a very frazzled and exhausted looking prince.

"Lance," Coran gasped. "What in the world have you been doing? You look horrible."

Lance shot the advisor a weak glare. "Thank you for the compliment," he said dully. He pressed a hand to his temple, rubbing it gingerly. "I was napping."

"You're a very bad liar, your highness," Coran said, lifting an eyebrow.

Lance stiffened, his eyes widening. Then he huffed and straightened. "So I've been told," he mumbled. He noticed the mouse in Coran's hands and petted it with two of his fingers. A smile tugged at his lips upwards when the tiny creature squeaked and grabbed one of his fingers and held it still so it could nuzzle it. He turned his hand palm up so the mouse could climb up onto his hand.

"They certainly have a better attitude than their mistress," Lance said.

"You two fought again didn't you," Coran said with a heavy sigh. It wasn't a question and Lance didn't bother answering. "I worry about the both of you sometimes," Coran said, shaking his head and placing a hand on the young prince's shoulder. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Not unless you can reverse time," Lance said, refusing to meet the advisor's eyes. When he finally did, Coran grimaced and Lance saw it. "Do I really look that bad?" Lance asked hesitantly, stopping himself from touching his scar. Instead, he pressed his hand to the Mark on his neck.

"You look tired," Coran clarified. "Did you sleep at all?" Lance shrugged and Coran knew he hadn't. "Why not?" he asked. "You and Allura are both exhausted. The last few cycles have taken a lot out of youth. You'll run yourselves into the ground if you aren't careful."

Lance sighed. "I will tonight," he said.

"You'll rest now," Coran said firmly, crossing his arms and giving Lance his best parental glare.

The prince blinked in surprise. "You can't tell me what to do," Lance said without thinking.

"Maybe not," Coran agreed. "But what if I get Shiro to come tell you instead?"

Lance ducked. "You wouldn't dare."

"I'll be right back," Coran said, turning on his heel and strolling to the lift to find Shiro.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Lance said quickly. "I'll sleep just… I'm just hungry."

Coran glanced over his shoulder to see his prince's face flushed and his eye sparkling nervously. "Well, come along then," Coran said, nodding towards the lift. "We'll get something in your belly then put you to bed."

Lance grumbled but set the mouse on his shoulder and followed the advisor into the lift at the end of the hall. Coran worried for the boy, but food was a good enough reason to delay sleep for a little while at least. He just hoped Lance and Allura didn't meet up just yet. He had a feeling that would be disastrous given the siblings' current mental and emotional states.

* * *

Allura was in the cafeteria when they arrived and suddenly Lance wasn't too hungry anymore. But he knew Coran wouldn't let him just slip away now. Besides, even if he did sneak out, he wouldn't be able to hid anywhere for long. Especially with one of his sister's mice on his shoulder. Reluctantly, Lance settled in for an awkward meal.

At least Hunk was here too. But where were Pidge, Shiro, and Keith? As if on cue, Shiro strode into the mess hall and made a beeline for the food hose.

"Don't worry man," Hunk said, grabbing a plate and handing it to the black paladin. "I got you."

Shiro took the offered plate with a smile and held it patiently while Hunk squeezed a healthy dollop of the green Human-dubbed 'food goo' onto the dish. When Shiro waved, Hunk stopped the flow of goo and hung the hose back on its handle.

"Thanks," Shiro said politely, patting the yellow paladin's shoulder before walking to the table where Allura already sat eating her food.

Lance hesitated at the doorway watching Coran walk into the room first. The mouse on his shoulder was silent a well.

"Hello all," Coran said cheerfully. "How is everyone? Anything happen with Sendak Shiro?"

Shiro's expression darkened and he took a sip of nunvill. "No," he said, setting his cup down. "Nothing. He's there, I know he is. He just won't give in."

Coran sighed. "Well, I did warn you," he said. "That technology wasn't meant to be used on an unwilling participant. Don't be surprised if nothing happens today. Now, if nothing happens by tomorrow afternoon, I think we might have to call this a failure princess," he added to Allura.

"Maybe," the princess said, setting her spork down in the plate with a soft clatter. "But we have to try. We need the information. Anything at this point could be useful."

"Hi Lance," Hunk called when he noticed the prince standing awkwardly in the doorway. "You hungry?" Hunk held up his plate of food goo with a smile. "There's plenty if you want any."

Lance hesitated before stepping into the room.

* * *

Shiro saw what Hunk probably didn't. The way the princess stiffened at her brother's name, the way Lance deliberately avoided looking at his sister, the sad droop to Coran's shoulders… Something had happened between this morning and now that had caused tension between the siblings. From the looks of it, they'd had another fight.

When he had the chance, Shiro caught Coran's eye and lifted an eyebrow in a silent question. The advisor nodded reluctantly and Shiro winced. So there had been a fight of some sort. It was probably a bad one if Allura and Lance hadn't reconciled yet. If they reconcile soon, then things could get tense when the Galra eventually attacked and the team had to form Voltron.

"I'm going to open a wormhole to your world this evening so I'll need coordinates to jump to," Allura said, startling Shiro.

"What?" he asked intelligently.

"I'll need coordinates for a safe place to jump to," Allura repeated, furrowing her brow as she studied Shiro's expression. "For when we return to your home world tonight. Do you have any suggestions?"

"Oh," Shiro said. He leaned back in his chest and crossed his arms in thought. He clicked his tongue and considered the options. "If I could choose, I think it would probably be best if we flew in close to Jupiter or behind the moon. You'll have to ask Pidge but last I checked, we don't have any satellites orbiting Jupiter at the moment. The last one we had self-destructed in 2018 and we haven't launched any more to replace it yet."

"Juno, yeah," Hunk said, plopping down in the seat next to Shiro. Hunk stuffed a spork full of food goo in his mouth and said with his mouth full, "We still have a few satellites orbiting Jupiter's moons, but it shouldn't be too big of a deal. Oh! Or we could stop by Saturn. We could hide the Castle under the rings."

"That's a good idea," Shiro said. "I forgot about that." He crossed his arms and slid down in his seat so he could stretch out his legs and cross his ankles. "That could work. But there's still Saturn's moon Titan."

"Yeah," Hunk mumbled. "I bet NASA and JAXA are working on trying to get another manned crew out there."

"Out where?" Pidge said, walking into the mess hall followed closely by a sweaty looking Keith.

Shiro let his head loll over the back of the chair so he could see the green paladin upside down. "Oh, hey Pidge," he said, lifting his hand in a friendly wave. "Did you run Keith to exhaustion yet?"

Keith groaned and rolled his eyes, his ears twitching. "More like the training program glitched and tried to kill me," the red paladin said.

"What?" Shiro demanded, sitting upright and turning to look at his teammate correctly.

"Kill you?" Lance gasped, looking up from his plate in shock.

"It wasn't trying to kill him," Pidge groaned. "Keith's being dramatic."

"The gladiator program wouldn't stop when I ordered it to," Keith said, taking one of the two empty seats left at the table. "It wasn't using a basic training mode weapon either. It really hitting me."

"That's not supposed to happen," Allura said, surprised by the halfbreed's story. "Coran, could you look into that please?"

"Of course, princess," the advisor said.

"I'm telling you, Keith's probably just being dramatic," Pidge said, taking the last empty seat and digging in to her food goo. "I checked and double checked the systems responsible for the gladiator training program. There aren't any bugs that I could find."

"Just because you couldn't find them doesn't mean they aren't there," Hunk said.

The green paladin shot a glare at her friend. "Are you questioning my computer skills?" she asked dangerously.

"No one's perfect Pidge," Shiro said, stepping in before an argument could begin. Lord knew Team Voltron didn't need another fight right now. "You may be great at Earth computers, but no one's judging you with alien tech."

"Who're you calling 'alien?'" Lance muttered. "This isn't your spaceship, you know?"

"It's not yours either," Allura said suddenly and Lance tensed.

"Not the best word," Shiro said quickly, holding up a hand to forestall any further discussion. "Sorry. Look, all I'm saying that no one's perfect and no one's expecting perfection. Pidge," he said, looking the youngest paladin, "Coran's going to give the training program a once over. Lance," he looked at the ruffled prince, "I didn't mean 'alien' as an insult. It's a word I use out of habit and nothing else. I didn't mean to offend you. Allura," he said, looking at the princess, "can we talk?"

Allura looked at Shiro curiously, probably caught off guard by the request. Nevertheless, she nodded. "If you want," she said.

"I do," Shiro said, sliding his chair back and standing.

"Now?" Allura gasped.

"Yes," he said, waiting for the princess to stand and follow him. When they stood in the corner, hopefully out of earshot, Shiro asked the question that had been burning his curiosity since Lance and Coran had arrived. "What's going on between you and your brother?"

The princess stiffened, her eyes wide. "I don't know what you mean," she said, schooling her expression and clasping her hands in front of her.

"I'm not mad," Shiro said gently. "And I'm not judging or jumping to any conclusions. I only want to know what's going one with you two. You must have had some sort of disagreement and that's fine. But you can't let it interfere with the dynamics of the team."

"I'm well aware," Allura said calmly.

"I know you are," Shiro said, holding up his mechanical arm in a placating manner, "and I'm not trying to imply otherwise. But you need to be aware that we can't afford to be split right now."

"I know," the princess said. "It won't last. It never does."

"I believe it," Shiro said nodding. "But when we get back to Earth, we'll have to be careful not to blow our cover. Since I was last on Earth, we still hadn't officially made First Contact with a race from another planet. Unless that's your goal, in which case I'll stand behind you. But if it is your goal, then we have to be united now more than ever. There is no central government of Earth. It's a collection of over 200 sovereign nations that sometimes work together and sometimes don't."

"We have a history of fighting amongst ourselves," Shiro continued. "Piss enough of us off and we'll unite against a common enemy, but don't expect us to accept that you come in peace."

The princess narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. "I'll think on your words," she said seriously. "I'll fly the Castle out behind the planet Saturn. Come with me and give me the coordinates. I'll make the jump now."

Shiro nodded. "Alright," he said. "Guys," he called back to the others in the mess hall, "change of plans. We're making the wormhole jump now. We'll try come out near Saturn's rings."

"We'll be home tonight?" Hunk gasped.

Shiro glanced at the princess then shook his head. "I need to fill Allura in on how the governing situation of Earth works," Shiro said.

"And you're a year behind," Pidge said. "So Hunk and I will help you out with that."

"We'll do that tomorrow," Shiro said nodding. "Right now, why don't all of you get some sleep. Tomorrow's going to be a big day."

"We're going home!" Hunk crowed, raising his fist up in in excitement. "Pidge, we're goin' home!"

Shiro noticed the way Lance's face twisted a second before the prince stood and stalked out of the mess hall.

"Lance?" Hunk called. "Lance, you okay?"

The black paladin sighed. He'd forgotten how hard this would probably be on the Alteans. He and his friends were going back home but Allura, Lance, and Coran had no home to ever go back to. He dropped his gaze turning back to Allura.

"Ready when you are," he said.

Allura nodded and turned to walk down the hallway. Shiro moved to follow, pausing when he noticed movement behind him. He glanced back and breathed a small sigh of relief when he saw Keith stand and follow after Lance. At the prince wouldn't be alone.


	56. PART 3 - 56: Smoky Quartz

**A/N:** And I've upped the rating to Explicit because this chapter is mostly just porn. Not that y'all are complaining I bet. ^_~ **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Lance in helpless to do anything but feel and Commander Iverson need a good, stiff drink.

* * *

 **56: Smoky Quartz - elevates mood, relieves depression, & balances sexual energy**

"Go away."

"No."

"Go away."

"No."

"I am not in the mood to talk right now."

"You don't have to."

"Then stop following me."

"Those two things have nothing to do with each other."

"You're still following me."

"You're still talking."

"I am not talking."

"You're moving your mouth and sounds are coming out in forms that translate as words that make sense."

"Blagh-blarg-gobbledy-gook."

"That doesn't change the fact that you're talking."

"You're obnoxious."

"And you're still talking."

"Technicalities."

"Technicalities that are continuing to happen therefore rendering your argument annulled."

"Tha-" Lance actually stopped in his tracks and turned back to Keith who also stopped just a pace or so behind him with a vaguely impressed expression. "That was unexpectedly eloquent."

Keith tilted his head and eyed his mate dubiously. "Are you insulting me?" he asked.

"Maybe," Lance said with a shrug.

"You're a jerk," Keith grumbled.

"I thought that was obvious," Lance said, snickering.

"You are very hard to deal with sometimes," Keith said with a sigh.

The prince shrugged. "I was the middle child," he said. "I had to stand out somehow."

The red paladin rolled his eyes. "I doubt you had to work too hard for that."

Lance hummed. "Latif was worse." He snickered, turning to keep walking down the hallway. "This one time, he and Alwida dyed Allura's hair red."

"They… They what?" Keith asked. "Why?"

"Because they could," Lance said. "And she was going to present at the System Lords' Moot for the first time and they thought it'd be hilarious if she had red hair," he said.

"Was it?" Keith asked in cautious amusement.

"Oh my lord yes," Lance declared proudly. "I almost didn't recognize her. She started yelling and throwing a fit which left an impression. From then on, she was instantly recognizable to everyone in our quadrant even when her hair was white again." He threw his head back and cackled. "I think more people were interested in Alteans during that Moot than any of the others before that."

"What about after?" Keith asked curiously.

Lance shrugged, his laughter fading. "I wouldn't know," he said. "We weren't exactly active in politics unless it involved exploration and peacekeeping. We were thrust onto the main stage of the universal political field when we build Voltron to help defend ourselves and others we were sent to protect. But that was before I was born."

Lance glanced back at Keith when he arrived at his bedroom door. "Voltron was never intended to be an offensive warrior, only a defender," he said slowly. "After the Voltron introduction and then Allura's hair fiasco, the only other time we were the at the center of universal events was when the Galra attacked us." He grimaced and opened the door to his room. "For once, we were the ones in need of defending and no one came to our defense."

Keith lingered in the doorway watching Lance move about his room. The prince could feel his mate's eyes on his back, watching his every move and strangely it didn't feel odd or uncomfortable. He did turn around when he heard the door hiss shut again.

Keith was now inside the prince's room but his eyes hadn't left Lance's body. Suddenly, Lance felt the slightly quiver of energy dance along his spine. One of Keith's ears twitched and his nostrils flared.

"You like me looking at you," the red paladin said softly.

It wasn't quite a question, but it could have been. Lance chose to ignore it and wait for more. He did flush, however, and turned away to gaze out of the view screens. The Balmeran's host star shone bright through the thick clouds covering the landscape stretching out from the Castleship. It was strangely beautiful. But nowhere near as beautiful as Altea.

Hands slipped around his waist and a firm chest pressed against his back. The prince sighed when something warm and familiar pressed between his behind hinting at what could happen if he let it. He knew it would help him feel better and it would certainly distract him from what was going on in his life at the moment. So without thinking too deeply into what he was doing, Lance pressed his bottom back against Keith's crotch, rolling his hips just so.

The hands on his waist dropped to either side of his hips and tightened their grip. A soft purr reached his ears and Lance sighed, letting his eyelid droop to half-mast. He rolled his hips back harder, and felt his breath catch when Keith suddenly gripped him and ground into him.

"It's too bright for this," Lance mumbled, reaching out to the panel that would turn off the view screen.

The moment the view screen went dark, Keith pushed Lance onto the bed and climbed over him. The prince was breathing more deeply when Keith settled on his hands and knees, caging in his mate from above. Lance rolled to the side to look up at the red paladin's face.

"Do you want something?" Lance asked.

A rumbling growl worked its way up Keith's throat as the halfbreed's violet and gold eyes narrowed with desire. It was flattering and Lance wanted that look to stay.

"How badly do you want me?" Lance asked, deliberately undoing his shirt and pants bindings. "Show me."

"I'll knot," Keith warned.

"If you can last long enough," Lance said, laying back on the bed beneath his mate.

Without breaking eye contact with Keith, Lance slid down the bed sheets until his face was even with the growing bulge in the halfbreed's pants. He reached up and pulled Keith's hips down so he could nuzzle the hat bulge and mouth it through his mat's clothes. Keith made an adorable sound that was halfway between a keen and growl when Lance nipped the fabric covered penis.

Working quickly, Lance undid his mate's pants and pushed them down and away so he could fully appreciate the sight before him. Keith's penis was stiffening but clearly had a ways to go before it was ready to push into Lance's body. Good thing the prince was interested in helping that along.

He slowly took Keith's penis in his mouth, simply sliding up the hot pulsing flesh until the tip touched the back of Lance's throat. Keith groaned and buried one hand in the prince's dark hair to hold it in place. The red paladin's hips were shaking, clearly fighting the urge to thrust into Lance's wet heat. Then Lance swallowed and Keith didn't bother holding back anymore.

Lance tried alternating between sucking and keeping his cheeks relaxed as his mate thrust into his mouth rather forcefully. He surreptitiously stuck two fingers inside himself and began thrusting into his own bottom, trying to keep pace with Keith fucking his face. The prince hummed around his mouthful when he added a third finger and Keith growled,

The next thing Lance knew, his mouth was empty, he'd been dragged up the bed, and flipped over so he lay face first on the mattress. Before he could formulate a question, Keith was on top of him, draping over him, and pressing his hot, freshly wet penis into his hole. Caught by surprise, Lance gripped the blankets beneath him and tried to spread his leg further but was hindered by his pants. He groaned and tried kicking his pants down his legs with very little success.

Hands gripped Lance's pelvis and lifted it slightly so Keith could finish inserting his entire length into him. It felt hot, so very hot. The Blue Lion purred in her paladin's mind and sent a pulse of bone chilling cold into Lance's core causing him to shiver. In response, Keith thrust into him eliciting a startled cry from the prince. Fortunately, Keith held blessedly still so Lance could get used to the intrusion. Unfortunately, Keith's penis was growing in size and filling Lance up to the point of near pain.

Lance tried to spread his legs so body didn't grip his mate so tightly, but found himself pinned by Keith's weight. Then the halfbreed thrust down into him and it became difficult to keep a hold of his own thoughts.

"Keith," he murmured, turning his head the injured side of his face pressed into the blankets.

He could barely move in this position but that was thrilling in a way that send feathers fluttering in his belly. It felt so good like this, unable to move at will, completely at the mercy of his mate. The last time he'd felt helpless like this, it hadn't been something he'd enjoyed. But now, with Keith draped on top of, the burning heat seeping into his skin, Lance found he not only wanted this, he needed it.

He shuddered when the Blue Lion's cold filled him to the brim only to be melted away when Keith began thrusting into him. The rhythm was faster than it had been their first time together, but it was no less exhilarating. Strong hand gripped his wrists and maneuvered them so they were pinned between Keith's stomach and Lance's back. Then Keith's right arm looped around the prince's body and held them flush against each other. The halfbreed's left hand helped position Lance's hips, moving and adjusting them so Keith could find the angle of entry.

The new position effectively removed any lingering control Lance had over the situation sending adrenaline racing through his system. He was completely and utterly helpless. The last time he'd been subjected to this position, it had been Sendak hovering over him, binding him, attempting to make him submit. He hadn't given in. He hadn't then and he wouldn't n-

 _"Ah!"_

Keith laughed by the prince's ear, feeling his mate's body arch against him. "There?" he asked and forced his hips back down, burying himself in Lance's bottom as hard as he could eliciting another half broken cry. "I will ruin you," Keith whispered, his hot breath tickling the hairs by Lance's ear, pounding into the prince. "I'll make sure nothing and no one will ever measure up to what I can give you. I will ruin you for everyone but me. You are mine, Lance. _Mine."_

"Ugh…ha…s-na…hard…er," Lance pleaded.

The next thrust knocked the wind out of him. He struggled to meet his lover's thrusts but found he couldn't. He whined and his body shivered, his hold twitching and tightening around Keith.

"Submit," Keith said, emphasizing his command with a well-placed thrust that made Lance's body instinctively arch in please.

Lance shuddered and gasped but shook his head.

"Submit," Keith said again.

Lance grunted from the force of his lover fucking him into the bed, feeling tears begin to form in his eyes. His body ached and his skin tingled with sensation. He gasped and swallowed over his dry throat.

"Make me," he said breathlessly.

He whimpered when Keith growled and began suckling his left eye scale. The sensation was overwhelming him, holding him tantalizingly close to the brink but never letting him fall. He gave a strangled cry when teeth scraping lightly across his eye scale's surface.

"I am your mate," Keith said, his wet lips brushing over the saliva soaked eye scale and cheek. "You are mine. I will overwrite everything that has been done to you until all you can think about is me. I will make you scream my name when you come."

Lance gasped feeling his lover's penis throb, the heat clashing with the cold of his body. He turned his face away from Keith's attentions and buried his face in the blankets. His hips pressed down into the mattress, wanting desperately to do what should be normal for anyone else, needing to climax but unable to even get hard. He gave a choked cry that was muffled by the blankets when Keith's hot tongue licked a trail up his neck before delving into the folds of his ear shell.

"So…good," he gasped. "M-more. Harder. Pl-please."

"You have to come for me first," Keith said, biting Lance's ear hard.

Keith's thrusts were getting erratic as his climax approached. The penis buried deep in Lance's body began to swell dragging a groan from the prince's mouth.

"Submit to me," Keith commanded.

Lance shook his head, his whole body moving with Keith's.

"Submit."

"Keith," Lance gasped.

The halfbreed growled hungrily, "Submit Lance."

The prince trembled when turned his head so his neck was bared as best as could be in his currently position.

"Good boy," Keith murmured and bit the vulnerable Mark hard enough to break the top layer of skin.

Lance felt his entire body tense up at the compliment, his muscles clamping down on his lover's erection until Keith finally spilled inside of him. Then the penis began to swell bringing with it more pain-tinged heat. He struggled weakly in Keith's grasp, crying out and falling abruptly still when his lover bit down harder.

It hurt so bad but it felt so good. He couldn't stop shaking as his hypersensitive body tried to make sense of what was happening to him. He was still unable to break free from his lover's intimate embrace. Now with Keith's knot fully expanded, he wouldn't be able to move for a good few tecks or so.

"K…Keithek," he breathed, loving the involuntary thrust of Keith's hips when he said his lover's full name. "Move."

Keith purred and rocked his hips into Lance's stuffed and plugged bottom. Lance felt the halfbreed's soft ears tickle his cheek as Keith tried to pick up the rhythmic movements once more. Lance was overly sensitive to the point the intimacy bordered on pain, but he didn't want it to stop. Ever.

"Make me submit," he said, shuddering as another wave of cold flooded his body, combating the influx of heat from Keith's unnaturally warm skin. "Don't stop. Do me until I scream."

Keith growled and moved, nudging Lance's head to roll to the side with soft kisses. The moment the prince's lips were within reach, Keith devoured them in a scalding kiss that promised so much more. When Keith finally pulled out of his lover, he'd come three time at Lance's encouragement.

He never knew Lance hadn't come once.

* * *

Iverson sat in the back of the coffee shop doing his best to stay out of the public eye. It hadn't been easy since he came out as a whistle-blower. Thankfully, the nonprofit group that protected whistle-blowers like him had stepped up in his defense quickly and efficiently. Since the Galaxy Garrison was a civilian and military partnership focused mostly on training pilots and engineers for future space travel, the scandal had attracted a lot of attention both nationally and internationally.

Unfortunately, that also meant his face had been plastered all over the Internet and news networks. Honestly, it was the Internet side of things that been the most useful and the most terrifying. News traveled faster over the Internet and reached more people through that medium than any other, news channels included. The nonprofit group protecting his rights had made quick work of helping him spread the evidence as quickly and efficiently as possible.

But now, every time Iverson went on the Internet, he saw memes of his face floating around websites like Facebook. At the urging of the group, he'd deactivated his Facebook account. It was probably for the best considering the overwhelming response he'd received from the public. Most of the attention had been positive. No one liked the idea of involving children in cover-ups, especially if those children got hurt or killed.

But there were always those handful of idiots who were dead set on sending him hate mail and death threats. He laughed those off for the most part. He'd seen active duty on the battlefield. A few cowards who attacked with words over the Internet didn't scare him. What did scare him was the possibility of those children never being found. He was fairly certain they were dead, but a part of him couldn't help but hold out hope that they would find them alive and well. Even if the possibility of finding bodies, if that, was slowly becoming more and more realistic as the days passed.

He was meeting the mother of one of the children here shortly. It was the only reason why he was at a café at all. He preferred bars where he could drink and forget. But Mrs. Holt had asked for a café instead. It was an understandable request when Iverson thought about it, he just wasn't used to this kind of setting. The people here were much younger and there was no alcohol to be found. Video phones were a dime a dozen though. He'd already caught several people snapping photos of him thinking they were so sneaky. Not by a long shot.

Still, he had to admit this place had good, strong coffee. It was hot and strong. I wasn't as good as the café down the street that had a bar in it, but it would do.

He didn't look up when a middle-aged woman walked into the café and ordered a coffee, but he recognized her reflection in the window. He lifted his drink to his lips when she came and sat at his small table, pulling out her computer and plugging it in.

"Commander Iverson?" she asked.

"Mrs. Holt," he said.

"I don't understand know why you wanted to speak with me," she said. "Thank you for telling the truth of what happened to my husband and my son, but I'm not sure what else you could tell me that wasn't released to the press."

"Do you know where your daughter is, Mrs. Holt?" Iverson asked without prelude.

The woman stiffened and Iverson had to admit he admired her fortitude. Even caught off guard, Mrs. Holt did not drop her coffee like an over-dramatic heroine in a romantic comedy. Quite the opposite, in fact. Her eyebrows drew down and she gave Iverson a glare that, had she been in uniform, Iverson would have felt his job threatened. As it was, he was simply impressed and no longer wondered where Katie Holt had inherited her fiery temper from.

"Care to elaborate, Mr. Iverson?" she demanded, dropping the respectful title.

Ignoring the deliberate slight, the commander set his coffee down on the table and held up a hand to forestall Mrs. Holt's formidable fury. "You've heard about the two children who went missing do the Garrison's mishandling of events," he said. She nodded. "Did you hear their names?"

"Hunk Palakiko and Pidge Gunderson," Mrs. Holt answered promptly.

"Pidge Gunderson doesn't exist," Iverson said in a curt tone.

"What do you mean he doesn't exist?" Mrs. Holt said.

"Pidge Gunderson was a pseudonym used by your daughter, Katie Holt," Iverson said. "I'm sure you're aware of her expulsion from the Garrison and its premises. She enrolled in the Garrison under the name Pidge Gunderson as an engineer."

Iverson took another sip of his coffee and avoided Mrs. Holt's eyes. She needed a moment to gather herself and he wasn't so much of a dick that he wouldn't kick her when she was down.

"She excelled in her classes and quickly settled into her team as the crew engineer," Iverson said. "Her partner and dorm mate was Hunk Palakiko."

"How… How do you know this?" the distraught mother demanded. "Why wasn't I informed?"

The commander gave the woman a sharp look. "She enrolled as a male," he said. "We did a background check but your daughter is very proficient with computers and built herself a very robust personal history. No one noticed anything amiss until she slipped up. One of the men's bathroom toilets clogged up from a tampon."

Mrs. Holt pursed her lips and sat back in her seat. "I hardly see how that implicates Katie," she said.

"It doesn't," Iverson said. "Except that I knew Pidge was Katie to begin with. With her hair short, she is the spitting image of her brother."

The commander set his drink down and reached into his pocket to pull out a photograph he had clearly taken from some social media site. He placed the photo on the table and slid it towards Mrs. Holt.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I thought it best I told you in person so you didn't hear it from the media or some other outlet. They wouldn't have any answers for you if you questioned them."

Mrs. Holt took the picture hesitantly, tracing her children's faces with her fingernail. "So what you're telling me is," she swallowed back her tears, "both of my babies and my husband are dead?"

The commander sighed. "No," he said slowly. "I'm saying I know your daughter was alive when I last saw her. It isn't much," he admitted. "But I thought you should know."

Movement outside caught Iverson's attention and he took one last sip of his coffee before gathering his things and standing. "I doubt you want to talk to anyone right now," he said. "So I would advise you take an extended bathroom break."

Mrs. Holt looked up at the commander in confusion before glancing over her shoulder to the street outside the café. Already, there was a someone who was clearly with the media hustling across the road towards the café. She tucked the photograph in her purse, unplugged her computer, and stood. As she ran to the bathroom with her computer in her hand, she chanced a look back at the entrance to the café and watched Commander Iverson delay the reporter.

She still resented the commander for the part he played in expelling her daughter and indirectly for the part the Galaxy Garrison played in the loss of her son and husband. Perhaps her family was lost to her for the time being, but it appeared she had an ally in getting them back.


	57. PART 3 - 57: Purpurite

**A/N:** Just as predicted, I'm posting this at 2:15am. I just can't go to sleep before midnight anymore during NaNoWriMo, can I? *facepalm* Side note, I've created a Pinterest board for images I'm using as inspiration for the iWarmth/i series if anyone's interested. The locations in this chapter are the only one featured at the moment, but they may help with visualizations and such. Here's the link (edited so this site won't delete it):

pinterest dot com (forward slash) a r e n_ spiritus (forward slash) warmth-series-inspiration

 **Chapter summary:** In which Rolo and Nyma get ready for Market and Rolo makes a daring decision. **  
**

* * *

 **57: Purpurite: helps break from limited patterns**

Meserie was just as busy as he remembered. Hovercraft ferried potential buyers to and fro while those who preferred to walk strolled along the many interconnecting skypaths. Towering building rose from the surface of the planet like spires, sparkling in the eternal reddish sunset. The high winds from the planet's surface buffeted the particle barrier surrounding the trading port.

Very few people lived here on a regular, extended basis. This was a stopover outpost meant for trading and discourse of both the legal and less than legal sort. The Galra knew better than to interfere with the dynamic of this little outpost. It may be small and on this out-of-the-way planet, but it thrived on anything and everything that was even remotely trade-able. No matter what it was.

It was here that Rolo and Nyma had had their first run-in with juniberry addicts. It hadn't been a pretty sight and neither trader had any desire to witness something so pathetic ever again. Too bad. A trade was a trade and no true trader would break such a sacred oath unless they wanted to lose any and all respectability. Respectability and integrity were like currency in the trading industry. If your customers couldn't trust you, how could you expect to have a living?

The friends landed their recovered Galran transport on one of the few empty areas on the busy land pad. It wasn't one of the larger landing pads near the less prosperous district of the outpost.

The planet was tidally locked so the side facing the system's star was hot enough to melt lead but the dark side of the planet was cold enough to freeze just about every life form in the known universe. The only habitable zone was the thin strip in the sunset part of the planet stretching from pole to pole. The outpost of Meserie was located in the equatorial region of this habitable zone.

The particle barrier protected the settlement from the intense solar radiation and high winds. There were several portals that opened at regularly scheduled intervals to allow ships to enter and leave the system at will. The landing pads were located on the planet's surface protected by the particle barrier while the main settlement of the outpost was located in the canyon that stretched for klicks to the north and south in the habitable zone.

Rolo used a few credits to rent a hover cart to carry his and Nyma's wares to the common lift that would take them down to the lower levels of the canyon of Meserie so they could find a spot to set up shop. They came to Meserie frequently so they went ahead and rented out time slots for their preferred location in the mid-levels of the trade district.

The mid-levels were for the common populace, both the rich and the less so. The top levels of Meserie were where the higher echelons of the populace resided and conducted their transactions. Ironically, it was in the higher levels that most of the illegal transactions took place. What money couldn't buy, power could get.

Nyma moved past Rolo and took a look around at their shop location. It was a decently sized plot of land that had a basic wood and metal structure with a clear plastic awning covering the raised mood and metal platform that would play host to their shop for the turn they'd reserved the site for. There was also enough room next to the open air shop for Nyma to set up the yurt that they would call home while they were here.

"You got the shop?" she called over her shoulder, setting her bag on the ground next to her.

"Yeah," Rolo said, pulling the cart onto their property and pulling out their notice of reservation from his pocket. "Here," he said, handing the notice to her, "hang this on the front of the shop, would you?"

"Sure."

They'd been through this process so often that they no longer needed to announce what they were going to do. Their duties had become habit, ingrained into them after years of working and living together. Beezer buzzed and catalogued the items Rolo took off the cart so they had a record of them. As long as each item was logged, Rolo could keep track of what items were sold, which weren't, and which went missing. It wasn't a common occurrence for items to disappear but thievery still happened so it was always a good practice to have some form of insurance.

Nyma began unloading the necessary tools to set up their yurt next to the shop. It was just a circular structure made of metal and waterproof cloth; simple but easily set up, torn down, and comfortable to live in. The bathrooms were in the center of the plaza which was a downside of mass trading posts like these, but nothing they hadn't dealt with before. It was a mild inconvenience only.

It took a full tock for Nyma to finish erecting the yurt on her own, but she felt smugly proud when she turned around to see Rolo still toiling away at setting up shop. She snorted.

"A bit slow today?" she teased.

Rolo rolled his eyes. "Yeah well," he said, taking his time deciding where to place the glass encased plant in his hand.

This plant was considered rare and valuable so placing it in a location that was easily visible but hard to reach would be the best choice. So why didn't he just put it on the top shelf?

"I'm not exactly functioning at full power right now," he said with a sigh. "Think you can handle the shop while I take a look around?"

"Yeah," Nyma said, flipping one of her long appendages over her shoulder. "I suppose I can suffer a couple tocks without you."

Rolo snorted, pulling out the twig he'd been chewing on to shoot his friend a tolerant look. "Really?" he drawled. "I feel so loved right now. No, really. I feel like my heart could burst. You're killing me."

"Yeah, yeah, suck it," Nyma said, tossing her jacket at his face. "Move your smeg and let me finish this."

Rolo tipped his head in mock respect. "Anything for a beautiful-"

"Finish that sentence and I will make sure you don't get any candied trollups," Nyma said.

Rolo wisely shut his mouth and stepped out of their shop to the walkway. He shot a salute to his partner before strolling off with his hands in his pockets. The wind howled, buffeting the particle barrier far above the Meserie settlement. The reddish light from the permanent sunset filtered down into the canyon where it was drowned out by the warm, solar-powered white-yellow light from the lights and illumination stones dotting this trading platform. Lights from the towering buildings up and down the canyon around them added to the ambience that was both welcoming and familiar.

It really had been too long since he and Nyma had been back to Meserie. He was itching for a good trade, but it was still early yet for this Trade Market to begin. A few early trades would take place this cycle, but the market officially began tomorrow. This cycle was mostly for the traders to find their lots, set up, and get comfortable. Each Trade Market lasted a full turn before the current traders moved on and were replaced by the next group.

Still, Rolo thought grimly, he never thought he'd be ascending to the top levels in search of anything ither than companionship. He preferred to stick to the mid-tier trade platforms. Moving higher meant rubbing shoulders with the elite, which meant more Galra.

He bit the twig in his mouth slightly harder than he meant to and the wood snapped. Startled, he caught the pieces in his hands and sighed sadly. Quiznack, that had been a good tasting piece of wood. What had it been called again? Tres-something-er-other. He'd have to remember what it was and get himself some more.

Tucking the pieces on his pocket, he strode up to the lift which was filled with traders stepping onto the trade platform and others preparing to ride back up to their ships on the landing pads or to the bars and lounges in the higher levels. Rolo could do with a stiff drink right about now. Good thing he knew the best bars on Meserie.

He shifted awkwardly when someone bumped into him in their rush to get onto the lift before it moved up to the higher levels and the landing platforms beyond. When the lift slowed down as they approached the top tier platforms and skypaths that connected to the sparkling buildings, Rolo pushed through the crowd and hopped onto the walkway.

A few skypath changes here and there, a skip down the next alley, and he came face-to-face with the entrance to Manset's lounge Den Resistance. With any luck, Manset would be here and not off gallivanting who knows where. Manset was an honest man who happened to have his fingers in a lot of jars. Den Resistance was considered a local landmark among the more experienced trader crowd. Not much happened in Meserie that Manset wasn't at least peripherally aware of. If anyone knew where someone could get a hold of the juniberry plant, Manset would.

Rolo stepped into the lounge, removing his aviator's hat and goggles politely. His white hair stuck up at odd angles after he ran his hand through it, fluffing it out a bit. Technically speaking, he wasn't dressed up enough for this place. Den Resistance was a casual enough bar, but that didn't mean you could just waltz in fresh from space and covered in dust. In other words, Rolo was being rude. Oh well, story of his life.

"Rolo!"

Bless the endless stars. Rolo smiled and held out his arms in a welcoming gesture. "Manset," he said.

"Rolo, you frellin' bastard," Manset said, yanking Rolo into four-armed hug. "How have you been?"

Rolo coughed when he was squeezed by the crustacean-like Lorab's bulbous belly. "Fine," he wheezed, wobbling slightly when the lounge owner let him go. The smile on his face didn't go away when one of Manset's hands planted itself firmly on his shoulder. "Nyma and I are settin' up camp for the turn."

"You're both here?" Manset asked happily, lifting his eyes to the area behind Rolo. "Is she here now?"

The trader shook his head. "No," he said. "She stayed behind to finish setting up for the Market so I could come talk to you."

"Aw, you missed me that much, did you?" the lounge owner said, guiding Rolo over to one of his booths by the oasis that served as the focal point of the lounge.

Blue-purple lights gave the lounge a watery, ethereal atmosphere that encouraged guests to rest and unwind after a long day. Stark white couches and benches were set in strategic locations of the lounge allowing people to gather in groups and talk in peace. Ottomans in deep reds and oranges separated by cubical, lit side tables were scattered in between the couch nooks.

The entire lounge was designed so it encircled a large oasis filled with flora and fauna from many planets in the very center. The lounge's bar served as the barrier between the lounge seating area and the oasis with the exception of four walkways at even intervals for guests to walk through into the oasis and relax.

It was a high class lounge that Rolo would normally never set foot in if it wasn't for Manset. Manset had given Rolo and Nyma their first job and supported them throughout the years. They were close friends and often exchanged information the Resistance would find useful, both the Den and the rebellion. Manset was a brave bastard who had slowly but surely won the wary trust of the Galra who frequented Meserie. It was a prime opportunity that the rebellion couldn't resist.

Rolo surreptitiously glanced around him for any unwanted ears before meeting his friend's eyes once more. Manset had taken him to one of the less crowded sitting areas in the lounge for privacy. There were a couple Galra here but they were being respectable and were far enough away to only be a minor threat at the moment.

"I need your help," Rolo said, cutting to the chase. "You're not going to like it."

"Oh dear," Manset said, leaning forward, his eyes darkening with concern. "What happened? Are you alright, my friend?"

Rolo shrugged. "Our ship broke on a planetoid just off one of the lesser used trade routes," he said. "We were hoping a Galra vessel would pass by but someone else did instead. You won't believe this." He leaned closer so he didn't have to raise his voice much over the smooth music to be heard. "You know all that chatter we've been hearing about this Voltron character?" he asked.

"Yes," Manset said nodding cautiously. Then his eyes widened. "You've met him?"

"Them," Rolo corrected. "We were wrong. Voltron isn't a person, it's a team. There are seven of them in all. Five pilot the giant mechanical lions, yes," he said quickly, holding up a hand to forestall Manset's disbelief, "I'm serious. And the other two pilot the mothership. Oh, and that mothership? It's a castle. A flying castle."

Manset gave Rolo a distrusting look before chuckling. "Good one, my friend," he said jovially. "You had me going there for a second."

"I'm serious Manset," Rolo insisted. "I wouldn't lie to you. You know that."

"I know that, Rolo," the lounge owner said. "But I also know you enjoy telling a good story and I find this all very hard to believe."

"It's true," Rolo said firmly. "Nyma and I traded with them. One of them hired us to spy for him."

Manset's eyes narrowed. "You turned him down, I hope," he warned.

"Actually, no we didn't," Rolo said, bracing himself for the weight of Manset's judgmental disappointment. "He gave us a good faith gift," he explained, "as well as some rather interesting information."

"It had better be interesting, Rolo," Manset said grimly.

The trader took a deep breath and explained to his friend as much of his and Nyma's time with Team Voltron as he could, leaving out the bits he'd promised to keep secret. "That's when he hired us," Rolo finished. "Mans, they're Altean."

Manset had dropped his head in two of his hands while the other two hands braced themselves on his knees. "This is…" He shook his head, lifting it so he could meet Rolo's gaze evenly. "I can't say I approve of this," he said finally. "But I agree, you made the right choice. Better to have potential allies close and under watch instead of distant and unreachable." He sat quietly for a moment in thought. "Your new contact," he said eventually, "does he have a name?"

Rolo hesitated. "He doesn't want to know the names of our contacts to protect their identities," he said slowly. "So, in return, I'd like to keep his name out of this as well."

"Rolo," Manset said, "this is more than just a matter of a fair trade. This… You've effectively handed over the reins of this operation to someone you don't even know."

"I didn't 'hand over the reins,'" Rolo argued. "I made a trade that was more than fair and I haven't regretted it yet."

"Yet," Manset said, holding up a finger.

The trader rolled his eyes. "Look," he said, "if we went about our lives only talking to people we trust, then we'd hardly have any information about anything. Let alone friends. That aside, you're missing the point."

"And what is the point, Rolo?" Manset said with a heavy sigh.

"Our contact is Altean, and so are two of the other members of Team Voltron," Rolo said. "Better yet, according to our contact's mate, a Galra halfbreed, the Alteans are all pure bloods. And on top of that, the three other members of Voltron are of a race I've never encountered before. Ever."

That had the lounge owner lifting his eyebrows in open interest. "I'm listening," he said.

"I've never seen anything like those three before and you know that means something," Rolo continued. "They look similar to the Alteans but their ears aren't pointed and they're very informal in just about everything they do." He smirked. "They also taught Nyma and me a new word."

Manset snorted. "And this word would be?"

"Fuck."

"What, like frak?" the lounge owner asked in amusement.

Rolo tilted his head in a half nod. "Sort of," he said. "But more like…" He made a lewd gesture with his hands and Manset threw his head back in a deep belly laugh that had Rolo chuckling.

"Well I'll be quiznacked," Manset said. "I think I'd like to meet these new friends of yours."

"That actually brings to me to the other reason why I'm here," he said reluctantly.

He ducked his head to avoid eye contact as a flush crept into his cheeks. This was it. This was when he potentially gave up everything that made him a trader with integrity in order to fulfill a trade. It had taken him a while to eventually come to terms with this. But in the end, it had been the Altean prince's confession of what the plant was used for that had spurred him to stick with his oath.

"You aren't going to like this," Rolo said slowly. "But I made a trade and I intend to keep my side of it." He lifted his face and looked Manset directly in the eye. "I need you to tell me where I can get my hands on the juniberry plant."

Instantly, all amusement and welcome vanished from the lounge owner's face replaced by a dark, furious glare. Rolo took a deep, steadying breath and refused to look away. He'd made a promise in the form of a fair trade. He could not break something as sacred as that. He wouldn't.

"I think it's time you left," Manset said gruffly.

"Mans-"

"Now, Rolo," Manset said.

"I can't do that, Mans," Rolo said, not moving from his seat. "I made a fair trade to both my contact's mate and my contact in Team Voltron. They need that plant, Mans."

"I don't deal in drugs," Manset said, standing.

"It's not a drug to them," Rolo said, standing and moving to block Manset's path. He was much smaller in both height and weight than the lounge owner, but there was a fire in his eyes that made Manset pause. "I won't let you make an oath-breaker out of me," Rolo said firmly. "You and I both know the juniberry plant isn't a drug to the Alteans," he said. "Three of the people in Team Voltron are Altean. In everything we've learned about that plant and that race, and you have to admit that in the grand scheme of things that's very little, neither of us knew what purpose the plant served to the Alteans."

Manset remained silent, but the quirk in his eyebrows made it clear he had noticed the past tense of the word 'knew.'

"They mutually symbiotic, Mans," Rolo said. "Alteans and the juniberry plants. They're essential to each others' reproductive cycles. Without one, the other will die."

"There haven't been any pure blooded Alteans for thousands of periods, Rolo," Manset said, "The few who can claim Altean blood these days are so inbred or have been diluted by other races to the point that the Altean race is essentially lost."

"Well clearly there's enough Altean blood out there for the juniberry plant to still exist," Rolo argued.

"If you believe your contact's words which I do not," Manset said. "I've heard a lot of excuses from person desperate to get their hands on that drug."

"Plant," Rolo said.

"Drug," Manset said fiercely. "But I never thought I'd hear any from you."

That stung.

"What if I could prove it to you?" Rolo asked, hurriedly stepping aside to block Manset's path once more. "What if I could prove to you that I'm not lieing?"

"Than I would listen," the lounge owner said slowly. "You've never lied to me before. But then again," he said with narrowed eyes, "you never asked me for a drug before either."

"Plant."

Manset groaned. "If only you could hear yourself…" he said. "Rolo you-"

"Is anyone going to serve me or should I seat myself?" a deep voice demanded loud enough to be heard throughout the Den Resistance lounge.

Both Rolo and Manset whirled to the unexpected guest in shock,but it was Rolo who gulped. "I'll bring you the proof you need," he said quickly, pitching his voice, "when that bastard's gone."

"You do that," Manset said lowly. In a louder voice, he said, "I'll be right with you, your highness." He straightened his outfit nervously. "Go out the back way," he said softly. "You know which one."

Rolo nodded and slipped through the crowd of surprised guests. The last thing he heard before he closed the door behind him was Manset's jovial voice.

"It's an honor to host the great Prince Lotor himself. Please, let me escort you to the private lounge."


	58. PART 3 - 58: Aragonite

**A/N:** With this chapter, I have officially passed the 50,000 word goal for NaNoWriMo! Just counting the words I've written this November, I've passed 50,000 words now. Total, this series is over 200,000 words. ?! *flails in excitement*

Now, I'm going to drive back to my apartment on my scooter and crash for the night. I'll edit this more thoroughly in the morning. Then I'm going to deep clean my apartment tomorrow before heading home for Thanksgiving Break. ^_^

 **Side note:** When Rolo says Nyma is asexual, he doesn't mean sexual orientation. He means literally asexual. As in doesn't reproduce sexually just like the Teiidae lizard I'm basing her species on. If you're confused, don't worry. Just Google "Teiidae" and be amazed by the all-female species of lizard that doesn't reproduce sexually, but still performs sexual acts to stimulate egg growth. It's so cool. YAY SCIENCE! *ahem* **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Rolo and Nyma may have a plan they may regret later but enjoy in the moment and Team Voltron is almost home, just in time for a red Niagara Falls. **  
**

* * *

 **58: Aragonite - calms and allows for insight**

It took every ounce of self-control Rolo possessed to not run back to the site Nyma was still setting up at. But while his feet somehow managed to keep a steady pace, his thoughts were racing and swirling in mass confusion and fear. Lotor was here. Prince Lotor, son of Emperor Zarkon, was here on Meserie. Why?

Sure Meserie was popular with races from all across the universe the Galra included, but royalty didn't just come here it without reason. Lotor must be after something. Ever since the rebellion lost its last skirmish to the Galran prince, they'd been forced to lay low. The only plus side to the whole scenario was that the rebellion's base of operations was still undiscovered.

Was that why Lotor was here? Was he still hunting the rebels? Stupid question. Of course he was. But had he found something that led him here? Fuck, this was going to make things difficult. Thank the stars for a fresh new curse word to make him feel better.

"Nyma," he called, stepping onto their reserved lot.

The lot was silent. The small, open air shop was fully stocked with opaque particle barriers blocking access to their little shop. That would protect their merchandise from thieves or overly curious customers for the night. The only light other than that from the solar lights along the skypaths and scattered across the Market platform was from inside the yurt.

Without preamble, Rolo pushed the yurt's cloth flap door aside making sure to close it and activate the seal and temperature regulator as he did so. His movements were jerky and betrayed the fear that gnawed at his bones.

"Rolo?" his partner gasped, looking up from the portable heating table in the center of the yurt. "What the frell are you-"

"Did anyone stop by?" he demanded abruptly.

"What?" Nyma asked, her face twisting in confusion. "Why would-"

"Yes or no, Nyma," Rolo snapped. "Yes or no. Did anyone stop by?"

Nyma set her cooking aside on a foldable stool nearby. "Why?" she demanded, her wide, pupiless eyes studying her trade partner closely. The sapphire blue resembling the depths of the moon Khonsu. "What has gotten into you?"

"It's Lotor," Rolo said, turning on the program that changed the plasti-fabric windows of the yurt into one-way visibility. As long as there was power to the yurt, the windows would only allow people inside to see out. No one outside could see in. "He's here in Meserie."

"What?!" Nyma gasped. "What the frak is he doing here?"

"I have no idea," Rolo snapped, tossing his hat to the bedroll and running his hands through his white hair nervously. "This isn't a big Market," he said, trying to force his mind to think and rationalize instead of panic. "It's not even one of the biggest. The largest Market isn't for another few galactic turns."

"Calm down, Rolo," Nyma said firmly. "How do you know he's here?"

"I _saw_ him," the trader said, staring fixedly out one of the yurt's two windows. "He came to Manset's lounge. I swear it scared the living quiznack out of him too."

Nyma crossed her arms and leaned her weight on one hip, thinking hard. "Was he alone?" she asked.

"No. He had a few of his toys with him," Rolo said with a disgusted sneer.

"For a prince of the Galra Empire, he doesn't act much like a Galra does he?" Nyma said wryly. "I though the Galra valued their mates and fidelity."

Rolo shrugged. "It's probably _because_ he's the prince that he gets away with it," he said, shaking his head. "As far as I know, he hasn't mated any of them. Just drugs them up and plays with them like dolls." He spat. "Disgusting."

He groaned and scratched the back of his head in frustration. "This is not what we need right now," he said.

"Did you get anything from Manset while you were there?" Nyma asked, trying to change the subject.

"Not much," he said, shaking his head in resignation. "He was in the middle of kicking me out for even asking for that fucking plant when the prince arrived. I had to promise to give him proof that I'm not lying about the plant's properties for the Alteans just to get him to listen to me."

His partner snorted. "And you're going to get that proof from where exactly?" she asked.

Rolo shrugged dramatically. "I have not frelling idea," he said in exasperation. "I'm not in the drug running business and I never plan to be. It's not like I keep proof of this kind of thing just lying around."

"Hey," Nyma snapped curtly. "Relax. Don't raise your voice at me."

"Sorry," Rolo said, deflating. "I didn't mean it." Nyma nodded in acceptance. "Look,if you've got any suggestion, I'm all ears."

He lifted his gaze to his partner hoping against hope that she could figure out a way for this to work. He was all out of ideas and Nyma had a sharp mind. She wasn't his partner for nothing after all. They were a well-oiled team.

However, he wasn't sure if he liked that look in her eyes right now. "Lotor is known for drugging toys," she said slowly, mulling over her words as she spoke them. She leaned back against the yurt wall and crossed her arms considering her options. "Do you happen to know what sort of drugs he uses?"

Rolo shook his head. "I can think of a few off hand, but I don't for sure which one he prefers," he answered. "Why?"

"Think he uses juniberry?" she asked.

Rolo blinked and his mouth fell slack. "I don't doubt it," he said after a moment. "Probably not too much though. It doesn't take much of that stuff to be lethal."

"Not that he cares," Nyma said to which Rolo nodded with a shrug. "Alright, you need to get that plant I really need to get laid."

Rolo shot her an odd look, his lips pulling up at the corners. "Aren't you asexual?" he teased.

"Hey," she said. "Just because my people only have one gender doesn't mean I can't enjoy myself. Besides," she added, a smirk playing across her face, "I have to test put my new bottle of Kadesh."

He snorted. "Have to test the merchandise," he said nodding. He winked at her and got a lewd gesture in response. "Okay, I'm listening. How do we pull this off without getting killed?"

"Well, first thing's first," Nyma said, unfolding herself and standing straight. "Have you decided to actually get your hands on the plant and bring it to the halfbreed or are you just going to stick to the letter of the deal and bring him the information?"

Rolo chewed the inside of his cheek in thought. "You know," he said, "if I'm going to play games with the law, then why the frell not go the whole way? Not like I'd regret screwing over a smeg like Lotor."

Nyma grinned. "Then leave it to me," she said.

* * *

Allura took her place on the central platform, resting her hands on the control columns by her waist. "Ready everyone?" she asked. A chorus of affirmatives answered her and she steeled herself. "Alright. Coran, coordinates locked?"

"Coordinates locked, princess," her advisor said from his place as the very front of the bridge, hunched over a view screen depicting the Castleship's engine power output. "Ready for wormhole on your mark."

She nodded and lifted her gaze to the view screens covering the walls of the Castle's bridge. The Balmeran sky was pretty but nowhere near as breathtaking as Altea's had been. Pushing away her drifting thought, she tightened her grip on the control columns, feeling the smooth half spheres press comfortably against her palms.

"Then let's get this over with," she muttered.

The spheres under her palms lit up and the entire Castle shook with the power of the thrusters as the lifted off from the Balmera's surface. She made sure to use the minimal amount of thrust for the initial liftoff to cause as little damage to the creature as possible. However, the moment they reached the middle atmosphere and began experiencing intense friction, she had no choice but to increase the thrust to break free of the Balmera's gravitational hold and escape into space where she could safely open a wormhole.

Sweat was threatening to drip down her face along her hairline. It irked her that she was still so drained from the Balmeran energy exchange. It took more out of her than she'd originally thought. She would have to take it easy for a little while longer until her quintessence reserves finished returning to their natural state.

When they finally broke free of the Balmeran atmosphere, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes to center herself. Slowly, she reached out for the quintessence infused in the Castle and stored in the Balerman power crystal. It responded readily to her summons, pooling in her body like a river. On the fringes of her senses, she could feel her brother sitting in his pilot chair behind and to her right. He would probably step in and give her some of his quintessence if he deemed it necessary. It wouldn't be. She could do this.

She felt the Human paladins sitting in their pilot chairs to her left and Shiro in front of her. She focused on their quintessence: the swirling black of the sky, the sturdy yellow of the land, the knowledgeable green of the forest. They called out to their home planet, nestled in a solar system of eight planets and a single star on one of the outer bands of a spiral Galaxy they called the Milky Way. They wanted to go home and she would take them there. The Black, Yellow, and Green Lions came alive in her mind, adding their quintessence, nearly identical to their chosen paladins', to her. She would find their destination. She would find Earth.

The universe was vast, always expanding, always creating and destroying. Each galactic cluster held together in an immense network of dark energy. This was her territory, this place of knowns and more unknowns. This was a tapestry of nature she could see, interpret, and understand. This was a map that would lead her directly to where she wished to go.

Earth. She wished to go to Earth. Quintessence that filled the expanse, carry her mind through the web of matter and energy, ride the tributaries of the Eternal River, and seek out that planet. The soft rivulets of quintessence flooded the universe, searching for Earth.

A star that held a system of eight planets, four rocky geoids closest to the star and four gaseous giants beyond separated by a ring of asteroids, ringing be a belt of planetoids, and encased by a cloud of comets and dust. Her mind rode the current of quintessence through the cloud of dust and comets, past a deep blue gas planet, then a light blue gas planet, then a planet surrounded by beautiful rings, and a gaseous giant that raged with violent storms and burned the color of dancing flames. Beyond. She had to move beyond.

Rocks zipped past her consciousness as did a smaller rocky planet the color of rust. Then she approached of planet that sparkled with blue oceans and breathed life from its green and brown lands. White clouds swirled through the air as a shadow crept across the planet heralding a sunset to those on the surface. A single rocky moon orbited the planet as did a cloud of satellites ranging in size, design, and purpose.

This was it. This was Earth. She had Found it. It was beautiful.

Latching onto the image of a world of water and land and clouds, the third from its host star, she opened her eyes and in the Castleship and willed the space-time to fold. With the aid of the Castle's infused quintessence, the fabric of space-time folded until their current location and the location of Earth were as close as they could be at her level of power and will. The path stabilized and a wormhole opened before them and they entered it.

Within the wormhole, she pulled them closer to their target. Quintessence rushed through her veins, tugging her and the Castle towards her Find. A split tick before they burst through the other side, Allura released her hold on her Find and allowed the Castle to fly out the other side of the wormhole.

Rings of dust, rock, and ice spread out before them like the rings of a tree. The planet looming large and beautiful on their right rippled with the colors of the rainbow while auroras glowed brightly at the northernmost pole.

"Holy shit," she heard Pidge mutter.

"We're almost home," Hunk's voice said softly. "That's Saturn."

Slowly, Allura pulled her consciousness from the fringes of the Eternal River and back into her physical body. She'd Found Earth and gotten them here safely. She could rest now. It took her a minute to come back to herself fully but when she did, she realized she was shaking. Lance was standing next to her, close enough to catch her if she fell, but far enough away to allow her to recover on her own if she wished. She did wish.

She gathered herself and stood straight. When had she bent over? She was still breathing slightly harder than usual, but she wasn't as drained as she thought she would be which was nice. However, Finding Earth had still put a strain on her quintessence levels so she would have to rest soon. But at least they'd made it here safely.

"Shiro," she said, turning to her black paladin. "this is your home planet. How would you like us to handle our arrival?"

Takashi Shirogane was standing at his seat staring out at Saturn with wide, awe filled eyes. It took him a tick to realize he'd been spoken to and form an answer. "Uh," he began. "I think…" he trailed away as his eyes returned to the gas giant.

"Shiro?" she said gently, jolting the paladin out of his reverie.

The black paladin flushed and rubbed his neck awkwardly. "I think subtly would be best at the moment," he said finally. "We don't know the current state of affairs on Earth. Appearing out of nowhere probably wouldn't be the best decision."

"Yeah," Hunk said, drawing out the word. "We have lots of movies and TV shows and book that have perfect examples of how that is typically _not_ a good idea."

"We could take the Green Lion," Pidge offered. "We can fly into the atmosphere cloaked and land somewhere remote and go from there."

Hunk shot her a disdainful look. "You do realize we have lots of satellites and ground based telescopes and cameras and lots of other things that will notice the trail of fire behind us when the Green Lion enters the atmosphere, right? And another thing, can you really say there is a place on Earth that's too remote to hide a giant robot Lion?"

Pidge wilted. "Well, when you put it like that…"

"What about the pod Coran and I flew to the Balmera?" Hunk said. "It can cloak and it's smaller so the reentry trail won't be as noticeable. We'll probably have to come it over the ocean to avoid sending out a sonic boom over land. That would certainly raise some red flags."

That's a good idea, Hunk," Shiro said with an encouraging smile.

Allura noticed that Shiro's smile was much lighter and wider than she ever remembered seeing. There was joy in the black paladin's expression, joy and hope. It was a nice smile.

Movement in the corner of her eye made her turn her attention to her brother who was still standing by her side. He was still a little shaky on his feet from his and Keith's activities last cycle. He probably would be for a while.

Jealously gnawed at her making it difficult to meet Lance's gaze. Instead, she looked to her advisor. "Coran," he called. "Could you stay aboard the Castle while I join the paladins on Earth?"

"You need to sleep," Lance said firmly, gripping her arm. "You're not at your best."

"I'm afraid I have to agree with the prince, Allura," Coran said earning him an infuriated glare.

"If I don't go, then Lance doesn't either," Allura said petulantly. "He's just as tired as I am. Not to mention I doubt his body could handle any further abuse," she added, crossing her arms in frustration.

Her brother's face turned a brilliant red that rivaled the Red Lion. How appropriate.

"I can handle it," he snapped. "I'm fine."

"You're a bad liar," Allura said.

Lance stiffened. "I have never lied to you," he said coldly. "And I am sick and tired of being told that I lie."

"Guys, that's enough" Shiro said, his sharp tone cutting Lance off before the disagreement could escalate any further. "Allura, I'm sure Lance can handle this. He's proven himself more than capable. Lance, don't belittle your sister."

"I'm not belittling her," Lance said. "She's exhausted. She needs rest."

"So do you," Shiro said, facing the prince. "You both do. We all do. That probably won't change for a while. It's time we get used to it and adapt." He looked between the prince and princess with his stern dark gray eyes. "We're a team, but more than that we're a family," he said, this time taking in everyone on the bridge including Coran. "We don't need petty fights and disagreements to mess with that. We'll never agree on everything, but if we focus on our disagreements and differences only, then we'll fall apart faster than we can recover."

"Now," he said, "we'll _all_ take a nap and get ready to go planetside. Meet at the pod launch bay to depart in 3 tocks everyone." He smiled. "We're almost home, guys."

Pidge and Hunk's faces burst into bright, excited smiles. Hunk actually started tearing up.

"I want to see the beach," Hunk said dreamily. "But I'll settle for a good, home-cooked meal."

"I want to see mom Mom," Pidge said, her eyes sparkling with determination. "I need her to know I'm alright and that I'm going to get Dad and Matt back."

"I want coffee."

The green and yellow paladins looked at Shiro in surprise, then Pidge grinned. "Okay, it's decoded," she said. "Our first stop is going to be a café where we can all get the biggest size coffee they serve with the most caffeine." She smirked. "And I know just the place. Hope you don't mind some good ole' Southern college towns with one hell of a Halloween scene."

Hunk sat bolt upright. "Halloween," he said. "Halloween is in five days!"

Pidge jumped and cheered in excitement, then froze abruptly, a horrified expression on her face. "Oh shit," she muttered. "Oh shit shit _shit SHIT!"_

"Um, Pidge?" Hunk said hesitantly.

"I just fucking started my goddamned period!" the green paladin shrieked.

Welcome to Earth


	59. PART 3 - 59: Herkimer Diamond

**A/N:** This chapter fought me tooth and nail every step of the way. I'm happy with it, but geez. Talk about a tug-of-war.

 **Two quick things:** First, TMI means "too much information." It's slang. Second, what Shiro experiences at the end of this chapter is actually a real phenomenon called Sleep Paralysis. I've experienced it before in almost the same way as Shiro and believe me, it was terrifying. **  
**

I've given this a rough once-over but I'll edit it seriously tomorrow as usual. Night y'all~

 **Chapter summary:** In which Allura and Coran are ready to operate, Hunk and Pidge have gut problems, and Shiro has a nightmare. **  
**

* * *

 **59: Herkimer Diamond - stimulates psychic abilities, aids** **sleep**

"Wait," Allura called.

Lance paused, turning back to his sister as he waited for her to catch up to. He may still be mad at her but she would always be his sister. When she reached his side, they continued down the hall together side by side.

"I wanted to talk to you before we went down to Earth," Allura said. She slipped her hand in Lance's and tugged him towards the lift. "Come with me."

The prince lifted an eyebrow suspiciously. "Where are we going?" he asked. "I thought Space Dad sent us to bed."

"Shiro highly suggested we rest and that's exactly what we'll do, after we talk," Allura said. "Coran is going to meet us there."

"Where?" Lance asked as they stepped into the lift. He noticed the level Allura selected and his confusion grew. "Where are we going?"

"Just trust me," Allura said, bouncing on the balls of her feet as the lift moved downwards.

"I'm scared," Lance said in a deadpan voice. Nevertheless, he allowed his sister to pull him along anyway.

That is, until he realized where they were going.

"No," he said firmly, planting his feet firmly on the ground. "Allura, no. I am not going back into one of those."

"Lance-"

"I won't Allura," the prince said fiercely, digging his heels in. "You can't make me."

His sister stopped and took a deep, steadying breath before turning to face her brother. "I know I can't," she said. "You don't have to use them, but you might want to when Coran and I are done with you."

Lance suddenly felt very uncomfortable, staring at the doorway to the healing pod chamber warily. "I'm not sure I like this," he said.

The princess sighed. "Look, just come with me and hear our offer," she said reasonably. "You don't have to use a pod if you don't want to, but it might help with the healing process."

"Okay, now I'm seriously beginning to freak out," Lance said, holding up his hands to keep Allura away. "What do you mean 'heal?' What the quiznack are you planning on doing to me?"

Allura gazed at her younger brother for a moment before her shoulders drooped and she bit her lip. "I guess this is as good a time as any," she mumbled.

"Good a time for what?" Lance asked suspiciously, watching his sister dig something out of her pocket. "Allura wha…" His words left him when he saw what the princess held in her hand. "Is that-"

"A cybernetic eye," Allura said, presenting the spherical device in her palm to her brother. "I traded some of my Kadesh for it from Nyma. Pidge, Hunk, and Coran added a few things and tweaked others, but…" She bit her lip nervously. "I wanted you to have it. It was my failings that caused you to lose your eye in the first place," she said. "You shouldn't have to get hurt for me."

Without waiting for her to continue, Lance pulled his sister into an embrace. He'd known this was coming but he hadn't known when or how Allura planned to give him the eye. Doing it now, before they went down to Earth and after their fight, meant a lot to him. It reinforced the fact that no matter what they said or did, no matter how many fights they had, they would always be siblings who cared for one another.

"You realize I'm still mad at you," Lance warned.

"I'm well aware," Allura said.

When they finally parted, the princess walked into the healing chamber knowing Lance would follow. The healing chamber didn't appear any different than usual except for a single table that slid out of the wall underneath one of the several work stations. The work stations were rarely used except for when surgery was required.

The healing pods were efficient, but they had their limitations. They couldn't set bones or bind cybernetics to a living body, but a living, breathing surgeon could. Quintessence would often be incorporated into the process to ease the shock the body undergoing the surgery experienced. This also tended to lower the chance of the body rejecting the implants and prepared the body for the intense healing and recovery in or out of the pods after the surgery.

"Have you told him?" Coran asked, setting a jar of gel and a folded towel on the table.

Allura nodded. "He's ready."

She held out her hand and escorted Lance to the table. The prince approached with hesitant steps and determination in his eye. He climbed up onto the table and sat there with his legs dangling over the edge. He said nothing aloud but his face screamed of trust hemmed with nervousness.

The advisor nodded. "I've already programed one of the pods for healing mode," he said, easing Lance back so he lay flat on the table. "This will be cold, but it'll numb the area so it doesn't hurt when I begin inserting the eye."

He picked up the jar, opening it and dipping his finger in the gel. "Stay still," he commanded and began applying the cool gel to the right side of Lance's face.

The prince sighed when the coolness actually felt good against his skin. He hummed, closed his lone eye, and lay still so the advisor could finish applying the gel. The only time he flinched was when Coran's fingers brushed his damaged eye scale, hissing a breath. He heard Coran apologize and move on to Lance's cheek. When Coran was finished, he placed a hand on Lance's chest causing the prince to open his eye and look up at him.

"I need you to stay as still as you can," Coran said. "Can you do that for me?" Lance nodded minutely and the advisor took the cybernetic eye from Allura's hand. "Alright," Coran sighed. "Here we go."

* * *

Hunk looked up from the tablet he borrowed from Coran's room -the guy wouldn't notice it was gone- when someone knocked on his door. "Come in," he called. "Oh, hey Pidge." He sat up on his bunk and folded his legs so he sat cross-legged. "Come join me."

The green paladin groaned and hobbled over to her friend's bed, sitting carefully on the edge of the mattress. Rover flew over her shoulder so it hovered between the two friends.

"You couldn't sleep either?" she asked.

"Are you kidding?" Hunk said, a huge smile on his face. "I'm too excited to sleep. We're almost home, Pidge. Can you believe it? We're in our solar system. Saturn's right there!" he said, pointing at the gas giant hanging in space outside the view screen. "Earth is so freakin' close, I can practically taste it."

"Ew, man," Pidge teased. "You eat planets now? What are you? Galactus or something?"

"I resent that statement," Hunk said, holding up a finger. "Obviously, I'm Ant Man."

Pidge snorted, then stiffened. "Damn it," she muttered, clutching her gut.

Hunk sighed in sympathy. "Cramps?" he asked. Pidge nodded and the yellow paladin grimaced. "Sorry, man. I don't have anything for you to take. Did Allura get you anything for the bleeding?"

"Yeah," Pidge said, nodding. "She got me some fabric things she called bleeding cloths back when I first brought it up. It feels kind of like a pad, but not." She groaned and hunched over. "I feel like my uterus is trying to turn itself inside out while I'm wetting my pants."

"Woah!" Hunk said, waving his hands frantically. "TMI! TMI! I did _not_ need to hear all of that. I promise, I did not need to hear that."

Pidge snickered then winced. "Man I hate this," she mumbled. "It's always the worst the first couple days."

"Is that it?" the yellow paladin asked, cautiously interested. "I mean, the few times you got sick while we were still in the Garrison, you would just guzzle Tylenol or ibuprofen or something and power through it. Was that-"

"When I was having my period, yeah," Pidge answered curtly. "I hurts like the fuckin' dickens."

Hunk blinked. "I have no idea what that word means," he said.

"Okay, it fuckin' hurts like hell goddamnit."

"Oh, okay, I got that," the yellow paladin said happily. "So," he said, leaning forward in excitement, "you ready to go home?"

Pidge shrugged, her shoulders still slumped wearily. "Dad and Matt are still out there, Hunk," she said. "I can't leave them there. Who knows if they're still with the Galra or if they escaped or if they're dea-"

"Okay, stop!" Hunk said. Pidge looked up to see a determined expression on her best friend's face. "Look man, your family is still alive. I guarantee it."

"You can't guaran-"

"I can to, Pidge," Hunk said. "I've got awesome magic powers like that."

The green paladin snorted. "Like hell you do."

"I do," Hunk said. "I've been praying for your family," he said in a softer voice, a faint hint of color creeping into his cheeks. "I mean, I haven't been able to go through the proper rituals or anything, but it's the thought that counts, right?"

Pidge stared at her friend in shock. "You've been praying for them?" she repeated incredulously.

Hunk shrugged self-consciously. "Yeah," he mumbled. "I can't really do much other than that at the moment so…"

"Thanks," Pidge said with a soft smile, placing her hand on top of Hunk's. "That means a lot. Really."

The two friends sat in the silence for several minutes. Pidge eventually leaned against Hunk's shoulder and watched him tap away at the touch screen tablet in his hands. The characters on the screen were still all in Altean but Hunk seemed to be figuring out how to navigate the system fairly well. It almost looked like he was programming something.

"What're you doing?" Pidge asked curiously.

"Huh? Oh, nothing really. Just…" He trailed off as he focused his full attention on the tablet screen.

"Just what?" the green paladin asked after a moment of silence.

"Well, it's weird," Hunk said. "Something feels…I don't know, off about this whole thing."

"What whole thing?" Pidge pressed, sitting up. "This whole going back to Earth thing or-"

"Yeah, that." Hunk set the tablet on the mattress next to him and sighed. "Look, I want to go home almost as bad as you and Shiro do, but I just…" He shook his head and tugged thoughtfully at the strip of fabric tied around his head like a headband. "I get this bad feeling whenever I think about leaving the Castle."

"Well, I guess the Castle has kind of become our second home," Pidge said. "I'll miss the old thing too when we go to Earth. But we are coming back, you know."

"No, no, that's just it," Hunk said emphatically. "I think that if we leave the Castle with just one or two of us behind something bad will happen."

Pidge sat back and stared hard at her friend. "Your gut's telling you that?" she demanded.

"Yes," Hunk said, fighting back a blush. "I know it sounds strange but-"

"Have you told Shiro?" Pidge said, cutting off the yellow paladin's defense.

"-I just, what?" he gasped. "You believe me?"

Pidge gave him a look that spoke volumes. "Hunk," she said, "the last few times you got one of your infamous gut feelings, something bad _did_ happen. Not to mention, you never once got lost when we were wandering around in the Balmera." She shrugged. "I trust that gut of yours. Even if it is a little jelly belly," she said with a teasing smirk.

"Hey," Hunk said in mock annoyance. "My gut is a good little gut. Don't insult the gut. It eats food like a wonder. Speaking of," he said, standing suddenly. "Mid-nap snack?"

Pidge laughed heartily. "I could do with some munchies right now," she said. "I'm definitely adding chocolate to my list of Earth needs."

"Oh Pele, chocolate," Hunk drawled.

A thick drop of drool leaked from the side of his mouth as he and his friend walked out of his room and towards the mess hall. Neither of them noticed the inhuman eyes watching them from the other side of the hallway.

* * *

Shiro lay in his bed wide awake and unable to get comfortable. He swore he was being watched but no matter how often he looked or how hard he looked, he could never find anything suspicious. It almost felt like he was back in the Galra prison waiting for his turn to fight in the arena.

He could practically smell of the place. The refuse, the dirt, and the mold mixed with the heavy, metallic scent of blood making his nostrils flare. He knew this smell. It sang to him, beckoning to him, luring him back to the world he left behind. He felt strong in the arena, arguably the strongest he'd ever felt before in his life. But he was also the weakest when he held his weapon down on his enemy, listening for the telling death rattle that signified yet another victory.

The roar of the throngs of people in the stands, Galra and otherwise, praised him. They loved him. They couldn't get enough of him. He was new. He was special. He was something unique and dangerous that they'd never seen before. They wanted more of it.

Shiro had to give them more. He had to. If he didn't, then they would kill him. Or worse, they would kill Matt and Mr. Holt. They were scientists. They weren't trained to fight. Matt, at least, had some basic training under his belt from his short stint at the Galaxy Garrison before joining the science division. But compared to Shiro, Matt was pathetically lacking.

Shiro was the Holts' last line of defense. If he fell, the Holts would die. If Shiro escaped, then the Holts would either be killed immediately or be thrown back into the arena where they would die soon after. How would Shiro ever face Mrs. Holt with what he'd done, what he _was_ doing?

Why was he doing this? Why was he fighting the Galra? He knew deep in his heart of hearts that there was no way he could defeat the Galra Empire. He was fairly certain he was no match for Emperor Zarkon and he wasn't sure if he wanted to test his luck against this Prince Lotor person. This was a useless battle that would do nothing except get thousands if not millions of innocent people murdered.

So why fight the Galra Empire? Why not join them? Shiro was the best of the best. He was the Champion of the Galra gladiator arenas. If he joined the Galra then he would have a place waiting for him. He could easily rise through the ranks to a subcommander at the very least. He may not be Galra by birth, but he was certainly Galra by nature.

…what?

… _what?_

What was this?

He wasn't a Galra. He would never be a Galra. The Galra were despicable creatures. They'd kidnapped him and his team on a peaceful scientific mission to Kerberos. They were going to throw their entire group to the wolves of the arena. They would have died too if Shiro hadn't stepped in when he did.

He was a pilot trained by the Galaxy Garrison and sworn to protect everyone under his care with his life. Everyone in Team Voltron fell under that category. But they were more than that now, weren't they? Slowly Hunk, Pidge, Lance, Allura, Coran, and even Keith after their rough start had wormed their way into his heart.

He had lost his parents to the ill-fated Cronus 3 mission, but he'd gained a new family in the form of Team Voltron. He couldn't let them down. He wouldn't let them down. He was stronger than that. He wouldn't fail. He wouldn't-

FAIL!

His eyes flew open, gasping in shock. He'd been asleep? His breath was coming in short puffs because his chest felt heavy as if something was sitting on it, pressing it down. He tried to sit up and was horrified to discover he couldn't move. He grit his teeth and tensed his muscles in an attempt to force himself to sit up. Again nothing.

Adrenaline fueled by panic zipped through his body and slowly, inch by hard-fought inch, he began to regain the use of his limbs. He wasn't sure how long he struggled against whatever invisible force was holding his body prisoner, but it had to be a minute or two at least.

When he finally managed to sit up, he leaned heavily on his bent legs. It was so hard to hold himself up. What was this? What was going on? He was so tired and everything was so heavy. He'd never felt this before and it terrified him.

He forced his eyes to stay wide open, staring blankly at the wall at the end of his bunk and began reciting anything he could think of. His name and birthday, his identification number, his favorite movie quote, his favorite song lyrics, anything. He stumbled over the words, but that didn't matter. As long as he was talking and focusing on something other than his captive body, the invisible chains weighing him down began to loosen.

It took a while, but his eyelids began to weigh one hundred pounds. It was ridiculous but that's certainly what he felt like. Already his body was slumping over without his permission. So tired. He could barely stay awake. He had to stay awake.

Maybe a quick nap wouldn't hurt. He wouldn't even sleep. He would just rest his head back down on his pillow and rest his eyes for a minute. Nothing serious. He wouldn't let himself fall back asleep. He was just resting his eyes.

He fell asleep.


	60. PART 3 - 60: Turquoise

**A/N: I** have a splitting headache but that's ok because this chapter is done and I can go to be BEFORE MIDNIGHT! *le gasp*

 **Side note:** The content at the end of this chapter may disturb some readers. Just fyi. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Shiro blushes, fights, and encourages while Lotor takes. **  
**

* * *

 **60: Turquoise - friendship, mental relaxation, guards against the evil eye and danger  
**

When Shiro finally woke up from his very unrestful nap, he was still on edge from that nightmare. Was it really a nightmare though? It seemed so real. Then again, that bout of sleep paralysis had followed almost immediately afterwards so he shouldn't think too much on it.

Still, in his dream he'd weighed the pros and cons of giving up on Team Voltron and switching sides. That in and of itself shook him to his core. The very idea of such a thing went against everything Shiro believed in, everything he stood for. Just the memory of what he'd considered disgusted him.

Rubbing his face, he forced himself to get up and crawl out of bed. His limbs seemed reluctant to move and his muscles ached. He felt more tired now than he had before he'd lain down in the first place. He wasn't sure how long he'd slept but he doubted it was long all thing's considered. If he'd overslept, then he was certain Allura would have woken him up with the ship wide alarm. She had a rather nasty habit of doing that although, more often then not, it was Lance who was the one to suffer. The prince definitely wasn't a morning glory.

Shiro pulled his shirt back on with a sigh. He was certainly looking forward to getting another change of clothes. Lord knew they all needed at one new set, the Alteans included. An image of the princess wearing Earth clothes flashed in his mind unbidden and his cheeks heated beyond what he thought he was capable of.

It took a full minute for him to force the blush back and go back to getting ready to head out. He picked the most Earth-like outfit he had: a pair of utilitarian black pants, black boots, a dark gray, long-sleeved mesh shirt, and a white hemmed black vest that zipped in the front. The long sleeves hid most of his mechanical left arm from sight. Only the deceptively monotonous metallic hand was visible, gleaming dully in the light of his room.

He glared at the appendage with seething hate. He could still remember the now familiar thrum of energy just begging to be unleashed on whatever target he chose. He had become a living weapon with no purpose except to kill. Team Voltron had given him a purpose other than killing. He felt like he could live with himself now.

Coming back home not in a state of terror from running from Galra captivity was a change that he looked forward to. Of course, he was looking forward to coffee. That black gold would do wonders for his sanity and state of mind. Not to mention caffeine…

He smiled. He wasn't entirely back to his good mood, but he felt better and that's all that mattered. Shiro adjusted his vest, zipping it up to the collar and strode out of his bedroom. He'd make a quick pit stop at the mess hall for a snack before heading to the pod hanger. He doubted anyone would mind.

* * *

What…

This…

How…

"Um."

"Shiro!" Hunk shouted form his hiding place behind the island in the middle of the kitchen where the Altean version of a dishwasher was. Rover hovered near the floor, flashing and spinning in obvious distress. "Shiro, make it stop!"

The black paladin could just blink, unable to fully comprehend what he was seeing. Green food goo was spewing through the air like bullets of glop from the food hose attached to the wall. This was not what Shiro ever thought he'd see. It was amusing? Weird? Scary?

"Um," he said intelligently, still unable to do much except blink in shock.

"We'll have to go on the offensive," Pidge said, pulling out two plates from the dishwasher. She handed one to Hunk and kept the other one for herself. "On the count of three, we take that thing down."

"Go!" Hunk shouted, ignoring the promised countdown and charging out from behind the island.

Food goo splattered all over the place, but the yellow paladin was great at utilizing the plate in his hands as a makeshift shield. When he wasn't eating the globs of food goo that flew close to his mouth. Those globs suffered the worst fate, being eaten by the Hunk.

Pidge was right there next to her friend with her plate at the ready. She leapt at the food goo hose, landing on the nozzle with her plate between her and the metal. She was strong, but she was also a lightweight. The force with which the hose was spewing food goo was reminiscent of a garden hose with the water pressure set at full. It flailed all over the place, bouncing the green paladin's body up and down as she struggled to keep it in check.

That was Shiro's cue. He booked it into the kitchen and helped Pidge hold the nozzle down. The hose still whipped around and food goo still flew out of the nozzle. That is, until Hunk managed to grab the waving hose and tie it in a knot. The three paladins heaved a sigh of relief when the green goop stopped flying around.

But their relief quickly vanished when Rover began beeping and flashing frantically trying to get their attention. They look up and saw the hose on the backside of Hunk's knot began to expand threateningly. The green glop began oozing out from behind the panel where the food hose connected to the wall. Petrified, the paladins bolted away from the hose until they stood in the doorway, hopefully out of reach of the approaching food goo explosion.

Shiro glanced at Pidge and Hunk standing next to him. Their faces were just as dumbstruck as his. Even Rover's unchanging camera eye looked distressed. "Leave it for Coran?" he suggested hesitantly.

They nodded.

Without another word, they turned and walked away from the kitchen as casually as they could. Rover even beeping a pointless tune, innocent as you please.

They were still a bit jumpy when they finally arrived at the pod hanger. Strangely enough, they were the first ones there. How had that happened? Keith and the Alteans were always punctual. Or, Allura and Coran were at least. If it was morning, Lance was typically the last one to arrive.

"So," Pidge said, drawing out the word, "where is everybody?"

"No clue," Hunk said.

Shiro walked up to the pod they were going to ride in and leaned against the metal body. "We'll give them a few minutes before trying to call them," he said. "They probably got distracted by something."

"Knowing Coran, I wouldn't be surprised," Hunk said with a shrug.

"Paladins!"

The three friends looked back at the hanger door where Allura entered, a wide smile on her face.

"I hope you're all feeling better after your naps," she said, clapping her hands together.

The paladins glanced at each other awkwardly before choosing not to answer that one. Thankfully, the princess didn't seem to notice.

"I have a surprise for you," Allura said, practically giddy with joy.

That got the group's attention.

"Non-killer food?" Hunk asked.

"Money for tampons?" Pidge asked.

Rover beeped.

"Gloves?" Shiro asked.

"Killer food?" Allura repeated, blinking in confusion.

Pidge blinked and looked at Shiro strangely. "Why do you want gloves?" she asked. Shiro flushed and Pidge's expression fell. She didn't press any further.

"Holy crap guys," Hunk said, horror growing on his face. "Pidge is right. We have no money. We don't even have our IDs. How are we going to pay for our coffee?"

Pidge shifted and stuffed her hands in her pockets, avoiding everyone's gaze. "We could borrow it," she muttered.

The yellow paladin stared at his friend, betrayed. "Pidge! That is not okay."

She shrugged. "Hey, it how else do you think I got my hands on those tampons at the Garrison without going shopping?" she said. "They went through out groceries to make sure no one snuck in any alcohol or smokes, remember?"

"Oh yeah," Hunk said, rubbing his chin. "I can see how that could be a problem."

"I would rather you not steal anything Pidge," Allura said. "But that's not the surprise!" she said, regaining her enthusiasm. "Lance!" she called, looking back over her shoulder. "Lance, come here!"

Hesitantly, the Altean prince slipped into the hanger, blinking and looking around cautiously. It was almost like he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Seeing.

Shiro gasped, pushing away from the pod. "Your eye!" he cried.

Pidge and Hunk stiffened. Then Hunk burst into a smile, opened his arms out wide, and ran at the prince. Lance just had a split second to brace for impact before he was caught up in a bone crushing hug that had him coughing and kicking his legs uselessly in the air when they lifted off the ground. Rover darted over to the prince, beeping and flashing and flying around the Altean with surprising energy.

The prince blushed and flinched away from the hoverbot's excited close-ups, ducking his head awkwardly. He ran a hand through his hair, scratching it nervously. He blinked a little more often then he used to, probably still trying to adapt to the odd sensation of having an eyeball again.

Shiro smiled and approached Lance more sedately. He placed a hand on the prince's shoulder, shaking him gently to get his attention. "Hey," he said, waiting for Lance to look up at him. "I'm glad you're okay. Do you like it?"

Lance thought for a moment, looking back over his shoulder where Keith and Coran stood in the doorway watching. Coran was smiling proudly and Keith's lips were twitching up at the corners. The red paladin's purple ears flicked up to catch the conversation.

"It's…" Lance began, taking his time with finding an answer. "Strange," he said. "It aches where the cybernetics connect to my brain-"

"Ew," Hunk said, his face turning green.

"-but I missed seeing with both eyes," Lance finished, chuckling at the yellow paladin's predictable reaction. "I'll have to take it easy for a few days to get used to this." He waved his hand vaguely. "The cornea is a view screen, I think. Things sometimes pop up in front of my vision when I think about certain things. That'll take some getting used to."

Pidge grinned. "I helped with some of that," she declared, pushing out her chest proudly. "I knew you were a sharpshooter so I added a basic targeting program to help with that. It already zooms-"

"Yeah, I've noticed that," Lance said, nodding and slowly shaking his head. "That part is weird."

"So I just attached the targeting program to the zoom," Pidge finished. "Hunk helped me fit the program into the eyeball itself and Rover watched."

The hoverbot beeped and spun proudly at the recognition making Lance laugh. However, when Keith stepped up behind the prince and looped his arms around Lance's shoulders, the hoverbot backed off, darting behind Pidge shyly.

"I don't think Rover likes your PDA," Hunk said wryly.

Coran laughed heartily. "Alright everyone," he said. "I've got everything handled here. Off to Earth with you. Shoo, shoo."

"Are you sure you're alright staying behind Coran?" Allura asked in concern as the paladins began crowding into the pod. It would be a tight fit, but they could do it.

The advisor smiled softly and pulled the princess into a hug. "I'll be fine, princess," he said. "You all have fun. This is your specialty, right? Get what you need, restock on some supplies, and let the paladins' families know they're alright."

Allura smiled and hugged Coran tighter. "I will," she said. Then she pulled back and hurried to join her team in the crowded pod. "We'll be back soon," she called, waving to her advisor.

"Oh, before we go," Hunk said. "I promise it wasn't deliberate and we're sorry."

Shiro flushed and quickly closed the pod's door before Coran could ask ed for clarification to Hunk's cryptic goodbye message. Keith shot the yellow paladin a curious look before settling back in the co-pilot's seat. Shiro took the captain's seat and grabbed the controls. A moment later, they made liftoff and when they were at a safe distance, he opened the slipstream and their little puddlejumper was finally on their way to home.

* * *

Prince Lotor gazed out the window at the settlement of Meserie from his quarters in on of the most opulent of the towers. He'd been hearing chatter from his informants of rebel spies hiding out here. While the rebellion was no longer his primary target, that didn't mean how wouldn't pass up the opportunity to investigate. Besides, Meserie was on the way to his final destination and he wanted to restock on some of his supplies.

A clatter from behind broke through his thoughts and dragged an annoyed growl from his throat. He glanced back in his room and sneered in disgust. One of his male toys was lying sprawled on the floor coughing and shaking. Lotor had planned to leave him with one of the other traders here, but apparently the prince's patience was shorter than he'd originally thought. Oh well. He'd outlived his usefulness anyway.

He set his drink on the table on the balcony and walked back into the darkness of the room. The male on the floor didn't flinch or fight him, still lost in the drugged haze of the juniberry plant. Lotor hauled the man up by his elbow and dragged him out to the balcony. The wind from the canyon whipped Lotor's hair as he stepped up to the railing.

It was nice out tonight. The particle barrier was darkening, blocking out the reddish glow from the eternal sunset above in a simulated nightfall. He picked up his cup and took another sip of the fermented berry juice and hummed. Tilting his head back to finish the drought, he released his hold and the male toy plummeted to his death. Whether he died from the shock of the fall or whenever he struck the ground far below, he didn't know. Nor did he care. He didn't scream so the calm, relaxing atmosphere remained undisturbed. That was all Lotor cared about.

Lotor leaned against the railing and fiddled with his empty cup. Meserie was a fascinating place. So many races passing through, thinking of nothing but their own business. Here, legal and illegal business deals were the norm. It was a cesspool of good and evil that fed his darkest desires.

Well, he thought, glancing back into his rooms. Not the darkest of his desires. That honor was reserved for another. Drawn by some emotion he still couldn't put his finger on, Prince Lotor went back inside, closing the glass door to the balcony behind him. He didn't bother turning on the lights. He could see perfectly fine in the darkness thanks to his Galran night vision.

He made his way through the common room to his bedroom, dropping the cup unceremoniously on the floor behind him. The employees of this establishment would clean up the mess the next day. Instead, he strolled up to his bed and picked up the tablet laying there. A tap on the power button and the screen came to life.

He hissed and immediately turned the brightness down so the light didn't blind him. Satisfied, he sat on his bed and leaned back against the decorative pillows he didn't bother to remove. He wouldn't be sleeping much tonight anyway. There were too many clubs to attend for sleep to be a priority.

But first…

Lotor pulled up the recording his father had given him so he could identify the Empire's single most wanted person. The prince had never known his father to have such a single-minded obsession over someone before. From what Lotor understood, this person had a connection to the Voltron.

Zarkon had commanded Lotor to retrieve this person by any means necessary. However, the prince was forbidden to harm or kill the boy in any way. Even if Lotor had known nothing else about the situation, that fact alone would have caught his attention. He watched the video play, pausing it when the person of interest spit at the screen.

Lotor had never laid eyes on anyone remotely like this person. The boy's skin was dark, only a shade or so lighter than his hair. His eyes were a sharp blue that burned with defiance. Pale, turquoise scales gleamed at the corner of his eyes. So this was what a pure blooded Altean looked like.

Lotor rewound the video, studying the way the prisoner's expression morphed from defiant to terrified and paused it. He enlarged the image so the prisoner's body filled the tablet's screen. He ran his light purple fingers over the prisoner's despairing face, tracing the trail of the single tear down a cheek.

So beautiful.

He reached down and pulled himself out of his pants and squeezed. What he would give to see that expression beneath him, because of him. To be the cause of that fearful expression, those tearful eyes. He pumped his penis slowly.

It wasn't enough.

He dropped the tablet on the bed and got up, striding purposefully into the spare bedroom where he kept his other three toys. He didn't pay attention to which one he grabbed. It didn't really matter in the long run. He didn't want to see their face, he want their body. He wanted to feel the heat and pressure surrounding him.

He tossed the toy onto his bed and mounted them. It was one of the genderless ones. Not important. They still had a hole he could use and that's all he cared about. He held the toy's hips up and thrust inside without preparation. The toy gave a cry of pain but otherwise remained docile in their drugged mind.

Lotor pressed the toy's torso into the mattress and propped the tablet on the decorative pillows so he could see his target's fearful face. He growled and moved his hips in a hard and fast pace. The toy grunted and whimpered but didn't resist. He grit his teeth and snarled.

He wouldn't drug his target when he finally got his hands on him. He much preferred his new toys awake and aware when he broke them. Emperor Zarkon had commanded Lotor to bring the target to him alive and unharmed but Lotor doubted his father would mind if the boy was broken.

That was his darkest desire.


	61. PART 3 - 61: Copper

**A/N:** Because we all need some fluff before the darkness. Sorry I missed the update on Monday night. I was literally so tired I was falling asleep while writing. I guess the consecutive nights with ~4 hours of sleep and 9-5 workdays is getting to me. ^^; Oops.

 **Chapter summary:** In which the locals regale the tourists with tales of mysterious norms and Shiro needs coffee. Now. **  
**

* * *

 **61: Copper - helps stimulate initiative and optimism  
**

When they burst out of the slipstream, Shiro clocked the pod and took full manual control. Keith acted as his co-pilot and alerted him to anything that could potentially get in their flight path like satellites of, heaven forbid, the New International Space Station. The NISS was much larger and more advanced than its predecessor and orbited the Earth at a slightly higher altitude due to its size and weight. It should be easy to spot, but Shiro had been out of the loop too long to know its exact location.

The flight he chose took them over the Atlantic Ocean between Africa and South America. He may be a little out of practice, but he still remembered that odd little patch of sky that muddled up electronics called the SAA. If he could angle their trajectory so they flew through that space, then hopefully their entry into the Earth's atmosphere wouldn't be too noticeable.

Then again, it was just now evening in this hemisphere. It had been Hunk's idea for them to fly down from the west in the late evening or early night. The sun would be at their back which would further help hide their friction-induced heat trail. If anyone saw them at night, they could cross their fingers and hope the people on the ground thought they were just a meteor out of season. It was worth a shot.

He had Pidge monitor every radio frequency he could remember to make sure no one remarked on their arrival. The last thing they needed was another incident like his previous crash landing on Garrison property that began this whole adventure.

As if on cue, the radios went on the fritz, stuttering and coughing as they entered the SAA. Shiro grinned when the lights in the pod flickered and some even went out. Keith, however, gave a cry and began frantically trying to regain the lost electronics.

"It's okay, Keith," Shiro said. "That's supposed to happen."

"I may not be familiar with Altean pod technology, but I'm pretty sure the main thrusters and communications suddenly stopping isn't okay," the halfbreed snapped, still worrying at the temporarily dead controls.

"What's going on?" Allura said, leaning forward to study the now mostly dark dashboard.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine," Shiro said. "This area of space is known for this sort of thing. We'll be back at full capacity as soon as we clear it."

"SAA?" Hunk asked curiously.

"Yep," Shiro said, nodding.

"Nice." The yellow paladin gave a thumbs up to the three aliens in the pod. "We're good, guys," he said. "It's all part of the plan."

"But what- Quiznack! It's back," Keith said in surprise when the systems came back online. He quickly began running diagnostics on the equipment.

"You won't find anything," Pidge said absently, returning her attention to the communication frequencies. "That was normal."

"Normal?" Lance asked in confusion.

"Yeah. It's the SAA, or South American Anomaly," Hunk said. "It's this area of space where electronics and stuff just goof up. We still don't know what causes it, just that it's always in that place." He grinned and chuckled. "It's sometimes called the Bermuda Triangle of Space."

"I doubt they know what the Bermuda Triangle is, Hunk," Shiro said with a fond smile.

"Oh yeah. It's this roughly triangular area of ocean where weird stuff happens," Hunk said excitedly. "Planes and ships go missing without a trace, strange magnetic problems, electronics going crazy." He spazzed in excitement. "And the best part is we still haven't been able to figure out what's causing it!"

Keith looked disturbed. "Why does that make you excited?" he asked in mild horror. "That doesn't sound like something I'd want to leave unknown."

"But that's what makes it so exciting!" Hunk said, grabbing the red paladin by the shoulder. "It's something we don't understand which means we can study it and learn. It's science! Science is awesome. Besides," he added with a grin, "the SAA isn't the only place on Earth where weird stuff happens."

"The number of places that have strange phenomena happen there is way too many to count," Pidge said, her eyes still pinned to the communicator. "We've got the SAA, the Bermuda Triangle, the Dragon's Triangle in the Pacific, and those are just the famous ones."

"Yeah," Hunk said excitedly. "Then there are those places that have this hum that can drive people insane, the lesser known Michigan Triangle-"

"So many triangles," Allura muttered in mild confusion.

"Well," Shiro spoke up, "they get their names because the places where the phenomena occur tend to be roughly triangular. But not all of them are. There's this one place in Nevada called the Fly Geyser that literally looks like it was some computer generated graphic from a video game."

"You've seen it?" Pidge asked curiously, not looking up from the comm unit.

The black paladin shrugged. "Flown over it, yeah," he said. "But I have seen it from the ground. Just pictures."

"Your planet sounds…fascinating," Allura said, her brow furrowed uncertainly.

"That's one word for it," Lance mumbled.

Keith just shook his head, still unable to wrap his min around the fact that all these unknowns were talked about so casually. It sounded like these Humans actually thought those things were interesting. Humans were a strange species.

"We're coming up on the Bahamas," Shiro said.

This time, Pidge did look up. "Already?" she asked. "How fast are we going? This's got to be faster than commercial airlines."

"It is," Shiro said. "We're definitely going Mach something, but I'm not sure which Mach it is."

"But fast," Pidge said.

"Yeah," Shiro said, gripping the controls and grinning. "I feel like a fighter pilot again."

"Shiro?" Hunk said, placing a hand on the black paladin's shoulder. "I love you man, but please don't do anything crazy. I may be a bit better at flying, but if you try anything I'm not guaranteeing anything."

Shiro paled and immediately focused on keeping the flight as smooth as he could. About an hour later, he glanced quickly over his shoulder to the green paladin and said, "Alright Pidge. This is your home field." He nodded to the coordinate map on the side view screen. "Where do you suggest we go?"

Pidge handed the communicator to the prince, unbuckled her seatbelt, and climbed up to the front of the pod so she could look at the view screens over Shiro's shoulder. She hummed. "Okay," she said slowly. "We're going to need a computer, an Internet connection, coffee by the barrel load, and lots of people dressed up for Halloween."

"But Halloween isn't for another few days," Hunk said.

Pidge looked back at the yellow paladin and smirked. "But if I've done my math right, tonight is a Friday," she said.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Hunk asked.

Pidge snickered. "My family lives in the Atlanta area. It's close enough to the airport so we can travel in a hurry, close enough to Cape Canaveral in case NASA contacted my dad or Shiro, but far enough away to avoid most of the craziness of the big cities. Besides, my mom's a Southerner born and bred so you know what that means?"

Hunk blinked. "Sweet tea?" he asked innocently.

Pidge lifted a shoulder in a half shrug. "Yeah, that too," she admitted. "But what I meant was-"

"Football," she and Shiro said at the same time, grinning at each other.

"Okay," Hunk said, still confused. "How does knowing that help us exactly?"

"Where do you go if you want lots of coffee, a free computer, lots of transient people who throw parties and are typically obnoxious and don't question strange things?" Pidge asked. "You know, like people with huge, fluffy ears-"

"Hey!"

"-and elf ears?" Pidge finished.

Hunk's eyes widened and a huge smile stretched across his face. "College towns," he said. "Pidge, you're a genius."

"I know," the green paladin chirped proudly. "And since it's the Friday night before Halloween, I can guarantee there will be a lot of people running around in ridiculous costumes and no one will question us," she continued. "Not to mention there's this huge parade tomorrow. The entirety of downtown will shut down to car traffic. Everyone will be wandering around in full costume, drunk off their asses, with trapeze artists and your token curbside fire and brimstone pastors screaming at us through megaphones."

Both Shiro and Hunk winced at the last statement. "At least we'll blend in," Hunk said.

Shiro nodded. "We'll find a place to land and hide the pod and then start looking into contacting your families," he said.

"Actually," Hunk said suddenly, "we may not have to hide the pod. Pidge said there should be a lot of people there all dressed up for Halloween. Will there be weird cars and hoverbikes too?" Pidge blinked, then burst into a smile. "Yeah, there will be," she said in excitement. "We could park this thing in plain sight and I doubt many people will question us. Although, we might have to pay for parking."

"Which leads us back to the money problem," Hunk said.

"Do either of you have checking accounts?" Shiro asked. "If not, I do."

"If they haven't frozen your account yet," Pidge muttered.

Shiro slumped. "I hope they haven't," he said. "I really need a coffee."

"Humans are so weird," Keith said.

* * *

In the end, they didn't arrive for another hour or so. Shiro ended up flying the cloaked pod into a parking deck that towered over the old, historic builds of downtown. He only uncloaked the pod when he'd pulled into a parking spot between an SUV and a hoverbike on the second highest level of the deck.

"Wait here," he said, unbuckling his seatbelt and climbing out of the captain's seat to the side door.

It was a bit of a squish seeing as the pods really weren't designed for more than two pilots and some cargo. They'd managed to fit all six of them in the pod but it was a bit tight and there was little to no leg room. Thank God Shiro had long legs. He stepped over Allura's head, blushing as he did so, and reached for the latch to slide the door open.

The top half of the door lifted while the lower half dropped to the ground at the same pace as the upper half. Shiro heaved a sigh of relief when the neither part of the door bumped the hoverbike parked next to them. The parking deck was lit but mostly quiet with the exception of the occasional rumble as a car drove through the many levels.

"It's clear," he said, looking back inside. "We should be fine."

Hunk got out first considering he was the largest of the group and took up the bulk of the space. The princess stepped out next smiling when Shiro offered her his hand. She took it and stepped out into the parking structure, looking around curiously. The walls were open but decorative metal spanned the openings between the support columns. The entire structure as far as she could see was made of the same material. It was similar to stone, but not.

"What is this made of?" she asked, her eyes traveling across the gray expanse curiously.

"Concrete," Shiro answered, stepping up next to her and smiling. "Check this out though."

He took Allura's hand and guided her to the edge of the structure so she could look out of the small downtown district. The buildings around the structure Allura stood in were smaller in size and varied in style and purpose. The lights shining out of them were golden and somewhere music wafted through the air. People walked along the sidewalks below her and vehicles she'd never seen before rode on wheels down the streets. Occasionally, a hoverbike or smaller, two-wheeled vehicles, some motorized some not, drove by as well.

Lights hung above road intersections changing colors from green to yellow to red at measured intervals. When the lights were green, the vehicles moved freely in one direction, when the light turned yellow the vehicles slowed down or sped up to clear the intersection, and when the lights turned red the vehicles that had been moving stopped and traffic on the road perpendicular began to move. What an interesting way to direct traffic in an orderly fashion.

She looked up at the sky and noticed the clouds coming in from the direction the sun had set. The moon hung in the sky to her right down the street in the opposite direction from the clouds. A few stars were visible but just barely, their light drowned out by the light of the cement structure and the town.

"This is Earth?" she asked.

"One part of it," Shiro said, leaning on the metal railing and taking a deep breath of the fresh air he'd missed so badly. "It's different wherever you go. There's mountains, oceans, desert, tundra, you name it, we've probably got it or something close to it."

He smiled broadly, closed his eyes, and sniffed the air. He stopped and took another sniff. "Oh my god boiled peanuts," he said. He immediately looked up and down the street. "Who's boiling peanuts?"

"It's probably a brewery on the next street back," Pidge said, standing on the railing so she could lean over the long drop. "There are times when I really wish I was of age."

"Of age?" Lance asked, joining the group by the railing. His eyes scanned the street below in open interest.

"In this country it's illegal to drink alcohol under the age of twenty-one," Hunk said, pushing up between Lance and Pidge. "It varies from country to country, but yeah."

"How many countries exist on this planet?" Keith asked, his ears flicking back and forth at the many sounds. His nose was twitching too which was too funny for Hunk not to snicker.

"About two hundred," Shiro answered, "each with their own laws and cultures. And that's not counting the territories and micro-nations."

Lance stared at the black paladin in shock. The red paladin's face wore a nearly identical dumbstruck expression. "Two hundred?" Keith gasped.

"So there are two hundred languages?" Lance asked.

Shiro snorted and shot the aliens a look of sympathy. "Actually there are over 6,000 different unique languages spoken," he said. "Again, that's not counting local dialects."

The aliens were absolutely floored. Lance and Keith turned back to the town below with a new sense of awe. Princess Allura met the black paladin's eyes with her beautiful turquoise sparkling in excitement.

"Over 6,000?" she demanded. "How many do you speak?"

Shiro flushed and rubbed the back of his neck with his mechanical arm. "I speak two fluently," he said. "I can get by with two more, but I'm nowhere near conversational level. Just the basics like 'I don't speak this language,' 'how much is this,' and the all-important 'where's the restroom.'"

Pidge cackled, arching her back and leaning away from the railing happily. "I'm like that with Spanish," she said. "Dad really wanted me to learn I but I chose coding instead."

"Actually I am speaking my second language," Hunk said, leaning over the railing so he could see around Pidge and Shiro and talk to Allura directly. "My first language is Hawaiian. I also speak Pidgin but yeah." He grinned. "English, Chinese, and Japanese made sense to learn considering where I'm from. I chose English."

"And," Allura asked hesitantly, "what language do they speak here?"

"English, Spanish, German, you name it really," Shiro said. "Although if you know English or Spanish you should get by just fine for the most part."

The princess hummed thoughtfully, stepping back from the railing. "The translators we gave you should translate the languages you know how to speak," she said slowly. "But only as far as you all understand them."

"Oh yeah," Hunk said. "I completely forgot about that. So how do the translators work exactly?"

"They take auditory input and translate it almost instantaneously so the wearer can understand what's being said," Keith answered. "But it only works if the speaker is wearing a translator or if the audio is sending out a signal the translators can detect and translate. Without that, we wouldn't be able to understand the myriad languages in the universe."

"So will you be able to understand what the people here will say?" Pidge asked.

Lance nodded. "As long as one of you is nearby, yes," he said. "Or at least, that's how the Altean translators on you and Hunk work. I'm not sure how the Galran translators Shiro and Keith are wearing work though."

"Basically the same," Keith said. "Our translators are newer and work fairly well with older versions that I'm aware of. It uses a mental connection to its users but, I guess unlike your Altean models, it stores the languages it 'hears' for later use. So since its detected and spent a while cataloguing the language Shiro's been speaking, I should be able to understand. But if someone starts speaking another language, I'll be useless." :::::

"But if me or Pidge are nearby and we understand the language you'll understand?" Hunk asked.

Shiro nodded. "That sounds about right from my experience anyway," he said. He took another deep breath and groaned, dropping his face in his hands. "I still smell boiled peanuts," he mumbled into his hands.

Hunk patted the black paladin's back comfortingly. "Right there with you man," he said. "If we can find an ATM somewhere, I can withdraw some money. And we can start chugging the caffeine."

"Caffeine!" Pidge said, making grabby fingers at the air with a weird expression of demented desire. "I need at least ten bags worth."

"You know you'll be sharing, right Pidge?" Hunk said wryly.

"Not from my stash I won't," the green paladin hissed. "My caffeine!"

Shiro groaned and turned back to the inside of the parking structure.

"Hey Shiro?" Hunk called. "Where're you going?"

"I'm going to actually go get coffee instead of just talking about it," the black paladin said. He looked back over his shoulder at the group. "You guys coming?"

"Hell yes!" Pidge crowed, hopping down from the railing and running up to Shiro's side. She took up a proud stance and pointed to the stairwell along the wall nearby. "To the coffee!"

"ATM first," Hunk said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "We need money to buy coffee."

"This…coffee," Allura said, joining her paladins with Lance and Keith by her side. "What sort of drink is it?"

"It's black gold," Pidge said.

"I have to agree with Pidge on this one," Shiro said.

"It's this drink made from a bean that's actually a seed, ground up, and brewed into this black, caffeine-heavy drink," Hunk explained helpfully. "Some people put sugar or milk or creamer or whatever in it to help with the taste. I'm a a fan of two creams and a sugar myself."

Pidge shot him a dirty look. "Desecrating the black gold with you filthy white fake-milk glop."

"Hey," Hunk said giving his friend a look of mock offense. "Creamer is amazing and helps with the burnt flavor."

"Everyone knows sugar is all you need," Pidge said, waving disdainfully.

"Black."

"Eh?" Hunk and Pidge gasped, staring at the black paladin in shock.

"I like it black," Shiro said proudly.

"By Pele, he's a purist," Hunk muttered.

"My respect for you just skyrocketed," Pidge declared, giving Shiro a look of star-struck awe.

"My confusion just skyrocketed," Keith mumbled.

"I think I would like to try this coffee," Allura said.

"I bet nunvil tastes better," Lance said off-handedly.

"Blasphemy!" Pidge shouted, practically leaping at the prince. "Take that back, heathen!"

Only Hunk's quick reaction, snatching Pidge's shirt by the collar stopping her from pouncing on Lance who was now hiding behind his mate. Keith's ears drooped as he sighed. This was going to be a long night. He could just tell.


	62. Part 3 - 62: Amazonite

**A/N: I** may not update tomorrow because it's Thanksgiving Day here in the grand ole USA. So I'll be busy hanging with my family, stuffing my face with lots of home-cooked food, and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (if I can find a channel that actually shows the parade and those two obnoxious talking head reporters who won't shut up and just interview people instead of actually SHOWING US THE PARADE YOU SELFISH PRICKS!)

*ahem* That said, things will begin to get a bit darker mixed with the fluff now, then drop back completely into the abysmal darkness. There will be scars. **  
**

That said, Happy Thanksgiving Y'all~!

 **Chapter summary:** In which Coran cleans, Rover panics, and Nyma has a request. **  
**

* * *

 **62: Amazonite - promotes awareness, draws luck and good fortune  
**

Coran was in a good mood when he left the pod hanger. Rover flashed and beeped a little less energetically than it had before Pidge left. But Coran didn't take offense. The little hoverbot was quite attached to the green paladin. It was rather adorable if Coran said so himself. He smiled and whistled as he walked into the lift with Rover hovering by his shoulder. The ride down to the kitchen's level was quiet, except for Rover's occasional curious beeping.

Coran carried on his own little conversation with the hoverbot. He may not know exactly what the bot was 'saying' but talking to it and watching it flash and beep in reply was comforting. The Castle of Lions was a large ship and it sometimes felt overwhelming when he was alone here. Usually, he was too busy doing something like manning the weapons and acting as the eye in the sky for the paladins during battle to notice the loneliness creeping up on him. But now he had nothing to do and just Rover as his companion. He patted the hoverbot's pointy top and strolled down the hallways listening to the bot tell him a story in beeps and flashes.

When he stepped into the kitchen, he was mortified by what he saw. Practically every surface of the kitchen walls, island, and floor were covered in Altean energy food. One look at the distribution hose on the wall explained everything. For some reason the hose was tied in a knot with a plate over the nozzle. The pressure must have built up behind the knot and leaked out of the wall. Now how in the world had that happened?

Coran heaved a sigh and felt his shoulders slump. "Oh dear," he muttered. "I was going to clean the pods this cycle."

Rover beeped and bumped into Coran, nudging him out of the room.

"No, no," Coran said. "The food has to be cleaned now while- What?" he paused and looked at the flashing hoverbot. "Yes I have other things to do." The bot beeped loudly at him. "Are you yelling at me?" he said, crossing his arms in a huff. "I'll have you know I enjoy a good cleaning."

The bot flew up so it was eye level with Coran and squeaked, startling a laugh from the advisor.

"Yes," he admitted with a smile. "I suppose I could do that first. Alright," he said, throwing his hands up in surrender. "You win. A cup of nunvil and off to the healing pods. We'll make the paladins scrub this mess up when they get back. Good team bonding session, I say."

The walk back up to the healing pod chamber was quick, minus the brief stop to get a polisher from the storage room. Rover darted through the air beeping at Coran as he walked until they made it to the chamber. Once inside, Coran gestured to the devices and said, "Well, my little friend, which one should we clean first?"

Rover paused, turning so its camera eye could see the whole room. It flew in, hovering over the hatches that housed the deactivated healing pods. It settled over the third one, beeping happily.

"That one, eh?" Coran asked. "Alright. Let's get to it."

The advisor typed in the code to open the third hatch and waited until the healing pod lifted out from beneath the floor and locked in place. Rover bumped the button that would open the pod's shield and stepped inside to begin cleaning the metal back and sides. He started whistling to pass the time and even Rover joining in with its beeping and flashing. At one point, the hoverbot began swaying to the beat of Coran's song.

Suddenly, an insistent alert sounded through the Castle. It wasn't an emergency alert, thank the Lions, but it indicated an urgent message being received. Had something happened to the princess and the paladins on their way to Earth?

"Oh goodness," Coran groaned. "What have those children gotten themselves into now?"

He moved to step out of the pod when he walked into something clear and solid. Surprised, the advisor backed up and stared at the invisible thing blocking his way. Curiously, the alert sounded a bit muffled.

"It can't be," he gasped, dropping the cleaning device and pressing his hands on the pod's shield. "What?" He pounded his fists on the shield. "Open up. Rover! Rover, deactivate the pod. Quickly."

The reclaimed hoverbot was flashing frantically and darting between the control panel and the shield separating it from Coran. Oh that's right. Rover didn't understand Altean script.

So cold.

* * *

"Damn it," Rolo grunted in growing frustration. "They aren't picking up. Why aren't they picking up?"

"They may not be in a position to answer," Nyma said, fiddling with Beezer's inner mechanics to be sure the problem wasn't on their end. "You know what that's like."

They had to get the message out tonight before they would be busy with the Market. They should be resting up for the Market tomorrow, but neither of them found sleep easy.

They had no other choice but to wait for the simulated night to pass and the new cycle to begin. Rolo shook his head. "Just let me be mad, okay?" he said.

Nyma shrugged. She watched her partner toy with the communicator encryption device for a another teck or two before sighing. She stood from her mat and walked around the yurt to stretch her legs. Hopefully the quasi exercise would tire her out enough to fall asleep easier.

On one of her laps, she noticed something small and shiny sitting on top of her clothes in her travel bag. It wasn't until Nyma walked over and knelt by her bag to examine the object that she recognized it for what it was, the fluorite shard Prince Lance had given her. She held it up to the dim light filtering in through the yurt's darkened windows and considered her options.

"We could always use this," she said, nodding to the shard in her hand.

Rolo stopped what he was doing with a sigh of resignation. "If it works, give it a try," he said. "If you even know how to use it, that is. It's not like that Lance guy explained it or anything."

Nyma shot her partner a look before lowering the shard so it settled in her palm. Rolo was right; she didn't know how to use it. But that didn't mean she couldn't try. She thought back to when Lance first drew out her quintessence and guided it into the carnelian shard he kept. If she could somehow reproduce that state of mind, perhaps she could initiate a call from her end. That could be useful in case something happened.

Shaking one of her long appendages over her shoulder, she settled down cross-legged on her bedding with the fluorite shard cradled in her hand. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and focused on relaxing her entire body, muscle by muscle. She could feel her shoulders twitching as the tense muscles there relaxed. She hadn't even realized she'd had that much tension in her body to begin with.

When she felt as calm as she could get given the situation, she closed her hands over the shard and thought of the Altean prince. She wasn't sure how long it took to make a connection, just that it was long enough for her to make a mental note to practice this more often.

 _:Nyma?:_

She opened her eyes and looked up to see Lance in front of her. The prince was in his usual attire but he was sitting on something she couldn't see. He was also staring at her with two surprised eyes.

"Got your eye back, I see?" Nyma said with a smile.

"It worked?" Rolo gasped, sitting up straight and looking around for the image of Lance.

Lance flushed and smiled, reaching up to touch the corner of his right eye. _:Allura and Coran put it in earlier this cycle,:_ he said. _:Did you need something?:_

"Rolo's here with me," Nyma said.

 _:I'm not surprised.:_

"We have a request for your mate."

Lance blinked and tilted his head in mild surprise. _:Alright,:_ he said slowly. _:He's with me but he won't be able to hear you unless I pass him the message. Is that acceptable?_

"Ask him," Nyma said. "It involves his trade."

Lance turned to look up at someone Nyma couldn't see. _:It's Nyma and Rolo,:_ he said, probably to Keith. _:They want to talk to you about your trade. … Yes, I did.:_ Lance grimaced and rolled his eyes. _:Stop trying to be Allura, Keith.:_ Keith must have said something else because Lance reached out and grabbed his mate, instantly making him visible. _:Shut up and listen to what I say.:_

"Hello halfbreed," Nyma said, grinning at the startled red paladin standing next to his mate. Keith stared at her dumbstruck, ears erect, and eyes wide. His mouth moved, forming syllables she couldn't hear. But what he said made Lance chuckle.

 _:It would probably be best if I didn't pass on that message,:_ the prince said, still smiling. _:I have to keep some semblance of polite conversation so the people around us won't think I'm too crazy.:_ Here he stopped talking to look around them in mild concern.

"Is this a bad time?" Nyma asked. She understood that feeling and if that was the case, she would cut her call short.

 _:Actually this is a good time,:_ Lance said. _:We're waiting for Pidge and Hunk to get some of their currency from an ATM so we can get something called coffee. Apparently a special card is required to make the device work and no one has one.:_

"Typical. You're on their planet?" she asked, leaning forward eagerly.

"Whose planet?" Rolo asked, scooting closer to Nyma. "Those weird alien people?"

"Humans, Rolo," Nyma chided teasingly. "They're called Humans."

 _:Yes, were on their planet,:_ Lance said. _:Apparently they left without any explanation to their family.:_ His face grew grim and his gaze dropped. _:They wanted to let their family know they're alive and well. Also,:_ he added with a smirk, _:they're craving that coffee drink as well as a few, ahem, feminine products.:_

Nyma cackled. "Necessities, dear prince," she said. "Unless you want her bleeding all over you or however her species deals with that sort of thing, I'd suggest you get her what she needs."

 _:We are,:_ Lance said. _:We just need currency to do any of that and apparently getting currency is proving to be-:_ he winced and Keith's ears flipped to the right followed shortly by his gaze, _:-a bit of a chore.:_

Keith said something and Lance grumbled, _:I'm not going to ask.:_

"The eye looks good, by the way," Nyma said, rocking when Rolo placed a hand on her so he could see the prince and Keith.

"Hey guys," Rolo said, smiling broadly. "Miss us?"

"They can't hear you idiot," Nyma said.

Rolo shrugged, effectively causing her to shrug, "So tell him what I said."

"Rolo says hello," Nyma said, shooting a mild glare at her partner.

 _:We figured,:_ Lance said with a wry grin. _:But I believe you had something to ask Keith.:_

"Yes, but we also have some news," Nyma said.

 _:Start with your question,:_ Lance said. _:That seems to be the reason why you called in the first place.:_

Nyma looked at Rolo. "What's your question?" she asked.

"I need proof to give Manset," Rolo said seriously. "He refuses to even listen to my request to help me find the juniberries unless I can prove it's symbiotic to the Alteans."

Nyma hummed and thought about her words carefully before speaking. "We may have found someone who can get what you traded for Keith," she said slowly, waiting for Lance to pass her message to the halfbreed. "But we need proof that it's not toxic."

Lance's eyebrows drew low over his eyes in suspicion as he repeated Nyma's words to Keith. The red paladin shook his head negatively in reluctance and said something.

 _:He says he doesn't know how to get proof,:_ Lance said.

"I was afraid of that," Rolo muttered. He wiped a hand over his face as his thoughts tried to drown each other in a confused mess. He let go of Nyma's shoulder and leaned back on his hands to stare at the yurt's waterproof fabric ceiling. "'Kay, how about we try something else?"

"Such as?"

The trader stuck a twig in his mouth and said, "Ask them if there's any way they can come to Meserie some time this turn."

"Do you think you and your team can come join us on Meserie this turn?" Nyma asked, flicking Rolo's twig so it almost flew out of his mouth.

 _:Why?:_ Lance asked, clearly not sure about this whole thing. _:Why the secrecy?:_

"Because a trade is between the trader and the customer," Nyma answered. "It's a binding contract that includes secrecy as one of its privileges."

The prince pursed his lips like he'd eaten something sour but nodded all the same. _:I understand,:_ he said reluctantly. _:I don't like it, but I understand.:_ He sighed and looked at something behind Keith in consideration before speaking again. _:I'll ask my sister what she has planned after we finish here. I'll contact you tomorrow with a definitive answer.:_

"Think you can get your contact to agree to wait a turn?" Nyma asked Rolo.

The trader nodded. "Manset trusts me," he said. "He may not like this whole thing, but he trusts me. I should be able to buy us a turn. Gives us time to work on our plan in case we need a backup."

"Good point," the Teiidae agreed. She looked back at Lance and nodded. "That works for us," she said to him. "Tell Keith we'll get our contact to wait a turn for you to arrive. Then we'll set up a private meeting so we can prove to our contact the item you want isn't toxic."

She waited for Lance to pass on her message, watching the halfbeed's reaction closely. Keith seemed frustrated but understanding, curious for an alpha. Curious for a Galra period. She titled her head when Keith said something she couldn't hear to the prince.

 _:Why?:_ Lance asked Keith. Keith's reply was seen but unheard by the female trader. Whatever it was, Lance wasn't exactly thrilled by it. _:Fine,:_ he grumbled. _:But only if you tell me what it is you traded for when we get there.:_ Keith nodded and Lance sighed. _:Alright,:_ he said, turning back to Nyma. _:I'll convince Allura to go to Meserie as soon as we're done here. I'll grab a few things from here to trade as well if you're interested.:_

Well that was thoughtful. "What's the catch?" Nyma asked.

Lance grinned. _:You let me in on what Keith traded for,:_ he said. _:Not now, when we get there. Also, incidentally, if Allura joins us, she'll probably alter her appearance slightly. We both will most likely, now that I think about it. I doubt Alteans will be instantly recognizable anymore, but just to be on the safe side.:_

"As long as Keith's with you and he's not changed," Nyma said nodding, "it shouldn't be a problem."

 _:Good. Now, you said-:_ Lance jumped out of his seat staring at something Nyma couldn't see. After a moment, Keith started laughing silently, patted the prince's shoulder, and strode off disappearing from Nyma's sight. Lance breathed a sigh of relief and dropped back down to his seat. _:Humans are insane,:_ he said.

The Teiidae snorted. "I noticed that during my stint with you guys pretty quickly," she said. "Although I think they're in good company."

 _:What's that supposed to mean?:_ Lance grumbled in mild annoyance.

"I mean you and your sister are just as crazy as the Humans," Nyma said. "Just in a different way."

Lance chuckled despite himself, recovering after a few ticks. _:Now that we have that taken care of,:_ he said, getting comfortable, _:you said you have news for me?:_

Any amusement the trader might have felt vanished. "Prince Lotor is here on Meserie," she said without preamble. The prince sat bolt upright, eyes wide in surprise and a touch of fear. "Rolo saw him on one of the higher levels. Neither of know how long he's going to be here, but if he sticks to the usual pattern the doubt he'll venture too far into the mid-levels. But Rolo and I are keeping our eyes and ears open just in case. I thought you should know ahead of time."

 _:Do you know why he's there?:_ Lance demanded urgently.

"No," Nyma said, shaking her head. "We suspect he's either stopping by for the trading going on in the establishments on the higher levels, or replacing a toy or two from his harem or hunting rebels. If it's the latter, then we could be in trouble."

 _:Wait, wait,:_ Lance said, holding up a hand. _:Harem?:_ he repeated in disbelief. _:Harem as in multiple bedmates?:_

"Yes," Nyma said. "I know, it's very unlike the Galra to take multiple people to bed, but he does often. He's become known for it, actually. The Galra look down on him for that, but they respect his mind and prowess in battle enough that no one challenges his authority. The few who tried died, eventually."

Lance blanched. _:I think I can guess where his conquests ended up before they died,:_ he said grimly.

"Lotor is known for breaking prisoners and hostages," Nyma said. "I'd steer clear of him if I were you."

 _:I plan to,:_ Lance said. He glanced over his shoulder and stood. _:It looks like we're moving now. I'll contact you next cycle with Allura's answer. May the Lions protect you.:_

"Thank you," Nyma said, tilting her head at the unfamiliar farewell.

The prince's image vanished and she looked down at the fluorite shard in her hand. Ticking it back in her bag, she flopped back on her mat so her head landed on Rolo's stomach causing him to cough in surprise. After a few tecks of changing positions and a brief fight over blankets and pillows, she and her partner snugged in for the night. She didn't remember when she fell asleep, only that she did. Perhaps the Lions were protecting her.


	63. PART 3 - 63: Diopside

**A/N:** The majority of this chapter is from Rover's POV so it may seem a bit odd. But don't worry. I think you'll all like what happens. However, fair warning, there will be tears near the end. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Rover improvises, Lance is confused, and Pidge calls her mom. **  
**

* * *

 **63: Diopside - heals trauma, brings necessary tears**

This wasn't in its programming. It didn't know how to deal with this problem. The Hairy-Lipped One was out of reach and the Green One had left with the other ones. It had no backup process it could draw from to fix this. None of the codes, old and new, told it what to do. All it knew how to do was flash codes and beep codes only the Green One seemed to understand. Hairy-Lipped One was nice, even though it didn't fit the usual codes it used for problem solving.

The Green One wasn't here to help it with this new concept of 'improvising' so it didn't know what to do. All it could do was watch as the healing pod cut it off from the Hairy-Lipped One and dropped back through the hatch in the floor. This didn't compute. It wasn't familiar with the computer systems of this place, but it knew from observing that this was not typical behavior.

What to do? What to do? Which code to use? Which program to run? It didn't know.

It turned so its camera eye looked back down at the hidden pod and swung side to side as it attempted to dig through its lines and lines of code for something, anything to help it. It couldn't find anything useful. It needed the Green One's help.

It had no way of contacting the Green One, no way to get help. Something flickered on the edges of its view and it spun to focus on the distraction. It was similar in appearance to the others but resembled the Black One in height and the Hairy-Lipped One in hair style. However, the clothes the holographic humanoid wore were unknown to it. It ran through the many clothing styles stored in its memory banks but could only find a rough similarity to Galran armor. However, this hologram was not of any Galra or Galra subspecies.

The hologram's face also had no match in its records. Before it could scan the hologram's face and run a more thorough search, the image vanished. It beeped and jumped in the air, spinning in a full circle searching for the holographic humanoid's signature. Just to make sure all variables were taken into consideration, it also looked up and down. Nothing. It was alone.

The beep is let out was softer than usual when it finally understood the situation. It was alone. It sank lower in the air, letting out a plaintive beep. No response. It beeped again, this time at a higher volume, still nothing. It did not know how to deal with this problem. It was alone, the Green One was gone with the others, and the Hairy-Lipped One was shut away from it.

It beeped pathetically, drooping lower to the ground. It gave another wailing beep, listening to the sound waves reverberate through the empty room and back to its auditory sensors. What was it to do? It didn't want to be alone. It was scared.

Scared? That didn't compute.

Unless scared was a byproduct of emotion like what the Green One experienced when it was going to power down to kill the subcommander. Scared meant fear. Fear was an emotion. If it was scared, then it was detecting emotion. It didn't like this emotion. It should not be in its programming. How should it fix this problem?

It turned back to where the pod holding the Hairy-Lipped One vanished. Maybe the Hairy-Lipped One could help it. But it couldn't get the pod back out. The script on the control panel was not recognized. Perhaps then a stray from programming would be necessary?

Anything to get rid of this scared feeling.

It flew up to the control panel and examined the readouts. None of it was recognizable, so pressing buttons in a randomized pattern was the best option. It bumped the first button and nothing happened. It bumped another button and nothing happened. The third button, however, had a reaction.

Air hissed as the hatched slid open and the pod lifted from the floor with the Hairy-Lipped One still inside. According to its scans, the Hairy-Lipped One's body temperature was much lower then what was considered safe for that species. It would need to raise the Hairy-Lipped One's temperature, which meant pressing more buttons.

It turned its camera eye back to the panel and bumped another button, returning to the trial and error process. This time it was the second button that had a favorable result. The frost began to recede from the pod's transparent shield, but the shield wouldn't retract. It bumped more buttons but didn't get another favorable result.

There was one thing that the Green One sometimes did that sometimes worked. It had always thought that thing was random, but that thing worked more often then not. Logically, since none of the other methods it had utilized worked, perhaps that thing would. It was worth a try.

It built up a charge within its system until electricity buzzed on its surface, then it flew directly into the pod's shield as hard as it could. The force of the impact knocked it to the ground, causing it to roll in an uncontrolled motion. When it was able to get its audio and visual processors working again, it flew wobbly into the air focusing its camera eye on the pod. Unfortunately, its vision was immediately blotted out by the image of the Hairy-Lipped One falling on top of it. It took a bit of effort to wriggle its way out from under the Hairy-Lipped One but it succeeded.

Once free, it turned and ran a scan on the Hairy-Lipped One's vitals. The heart rate was a bit low but rising steadily. The same was true for the blood pressure and body temperature. Breathing speed and depth was stabilizing also, finally reaching a satisfactory rhythm just as the Hairy-Lipped One's eyes opened.

It beeped a question. It knew the Hairy-Lipped One didn't understand it like the Green One did, but the Hairy-Lipped One still listened and talked to it. It was good to be acknowledged.

"Rover?" the Hairy-Lipped One asked, its eyes wide. His body shook. The most likely cause for the shaking was the Hairy-Lipped One's body temperature which was still below what it considered normal for that species.

Nevertheless, it beeped and affirmative reply and nudged the Hairy-Lipped One so he stood. He wobbled on his feet, flailing out with an arm and grabbing hold of it for balance. It didn't mind. It would be beneficial if the Hairy-Lipped One stood.

"I…" the Hairy-Lipped One said. "That was…"

He turned to assess the damage to the healing pod he had been sealed in and so did it. It had already assessed the damaged and determined the device to be irrecoverable. However, a second scan would do no harm.

"I, um," the Hairy-Lipped One said again. "I think perhaps it would be best if I…ah… Oh goodness me."

It beeped, flashing to get the Hairy-Lipped One's attention. It nudged its companion out of the healing pod chamber and to the lift. It had assessed the Hairy-Lipped One's condition and determined the best option was for him to recharge. His body was not capable of safely operating therefore a temporary entry into sleep mode was in order. That would give whatever components were working incorrectly at the moment a chance to recalibrate and begin working properly once more.

"Yes," the Hairy-Lipped One said, his words slurring ever so slightly. "Yes, I suppose you're right, Rover." He stepped into his quarters when it nudged him. "You'll wake me if the princess or the others call, won't you?" he asked.

It bobbed in the pattern it her learned to observation meant and affirmative. The Hairy-Lipped One repeated the gesture and collapsed onto his larger charger. The charger squeaked when he landed on it and pulled several layers up so they covered him. It beeped encouragingly. It knew from observation that the layers added warmth to the humanoids which was a positive outcome.

It waited, hovering by the Hairy-Lipped One's charger until the humanoid successfully entered sleep mode. Then it settled on the topmost layer of the charger, taking note of the softness of it, and allowed itself to enter a lower power mode. It was no longer alone. It was no longer detecting this program called 'scared.' That was a desirable outcome. Still, it determined a careful assessment of the events over the past two tocks, nine tecks, and seventy-two ticks was in order. Perhaps the Green One could aid in that assessment. It logged that command into its system for future execution.

* * *

"What by the five Lions was that?" Lance demanded when he finally finished his conversation with Nyma.

"Just a redneck in a jacked-up truck with a train horn instead of a regular horn," Pidge said, waving the prince's demand aside. "Don't worry about it."

Lance shook his head and stared after the retreating truck. "A what now?" he asked in confusion.

"Trust Pidge on this one," Shiro said, patting the prince's shoulder. "Don't worry about it. More importantly," he said with a heavy sigh, "we have a problem with money."

"We can't get any," Hunk said, sitting dejectedly on the curb near the ATM.

"And I told you to leave it me," Pidge said.

"We are not stealing anything," Allura said firmly.

"There is no 'we,' princess," Pidge said. "Just 'I.' All you have to do is talk to some drunk guy and I can snitch his wallet, grab a couple bucks, bingo. We have money. Easy-peasy."

"We can't steal," Lance said aghast.

"Why not?" Keith asked, looking genuinely curious. "If it helps us, why not do it?"

"Because it's wrong," the princess said firmly, crossing her arms.

"Trust me," Pidge said in a derisive tone. "You won't have a problem with it once you spend all of five seconds with a drunk dude at a bar."

"Or," Shiro said, cutting off the argument before it could gather more steam, "you could call you mom and ask her to come over."

Pidge held up a hand to argue the point, paused in surprise, and slumped. "I didn't think about that," she admitted reluctantly.

The black paladin sighed. "Look, let's just walk down to that café on the street corner down there," he said pointing to a squat little building down the street, "and you can use their phone to call your mom."

Pidge nodded and the group began walking down the street together. Most of the people Lance saw were dressed much like Shiro, Hunk, and Pidge, but some were dressed in clothes that did not fit the aesthetic of this little town. Some wore clothes similar to his and his sister's, other wore ridiculously outlandish outfits that were completely unfamiliar to him, and still others were dressed up as some sort of creature or animal native to this planet. It was…odd.

The café was a quaint little building squished between sloping alley on the right, a building on the left, and another building directly above and behind it. The front wall was class allowing prospective customers to get a glimpse of the atmosphere inside. A small deck sat comfortably near the café's front door by the sloped alley. A semi-full parking lot filled with the wheeled vehicles the Humans used for transportation stretched from the front of the building to the street. The white, painted brick wall of the building directly to the left of the café was covered in a mural that was both soothing and strange.

"Oh my god coffee," Pidge said running through the parking lot and into the café without waiting for the group to catch up.

"Alright guys," Shiro said, slowing his stride a bit. "Don't try to act like us. Just be yourselves and everything should be fine. We'll find a spot to sit and wait for Mrs. Holt and hopefully things will work out."

"You don't think we'll stand out too much?" the princess asked, a slight flush in her cheeks.

Shiro shook his head. "Normally, I'd say definitely yes. But since tomorrow is Halloween, most people won't give you a second glance. Just don't try to deliberately draw attention to yourself." A shadow fell over his eyes. "We don't know what we've missed while we were gone. A lot could have happened."

Allura nodded and they walked inside. The café was filled with a warm glow from the lights set in the ceiling and hanging from the beams crisscrossing the lowered ceiling in the hallway behind the entrance. Curious, Lance walked past Shiro and poked his head around the corner and his eyes widened. People of all ages, genders, and appearances were sitting at tables lining both walls. Some were talking, others typing away on primitive computers, others playing games, and some just eating or drinking. It was relaxing.

The music playing was like nothing Lance had ever heard before either. It involved instruments he didn't recognize singing words in a language his translator didn't recognize but that sounded fluid and sensual. He liked it.

"Excuse me," Pidge asked, her voice cutting through Lance's thoughts. "Would you mind if I borrowed your phone right quick? I lost my phone and I need to call my mom."

The person behind the bar hesitated. "I can't let you leave the room with it," she said awkwardly. "But you can call her if you stay right here." She gestured to the entry way.

"Sure, yeah that's fine," Pidge said easily. "I just need my mom to come get me."

"Sure thing." The young woman, who couldn't have been any older than Allura, turned and plucked a device from its cradle and handed it to the green paladin. "Just make it quick please," she said. "We sometimes get calls from customers."

"No problem," Pidge said, taking the device with a friendly smile. She pressed the symbols on the device in a particular order, held it up to her ear, and waited. "Hello?" she asked after a few ticks. "Mom? Mom, it's me Katie. I…" She licked her lips and shifted her weight from foot to foot nervously. "I'm in downtown. Think you could come get me?" she asked.

Pidge hesitated, the color fading from her cheeks. "Mom?" she called. It sounded almost plaintive to Lance. "Mom, are you there?" she called. "Can you hear me? Mom?"

"Did you get the voicemail?" Hunk asked.

Pidge shook her head. "I don't think so," she said. "I mean, I didn't get the usual 'Please leave a message at the beep,' message thing."

"Did you dial the right number?" Hunk offered. "No judgement if you didn't'. I've had my fair share of miss-dials."

"No, Hunk," Pidge said, rolling her eyes. "I think I'd remember my own phone number, thank you very much. I only memorized it when I was four."

 _"Katie?"_

"Mom?" Pidge said, jerking her attention back to the device in her hand. "Mom, can you hear me?"

 _"Katie? Is that you?"_

"Y-yeah," Pidge said, her entire form slumping. "I… Sorry I didn't contact you sooner, or tell you where I was going, or tell you I was leaving in the first place, or…"

A tear slipped down Pidge's face and Lance suddenly felt like he was intruding on something personal. He bowed his head shifted awkwardly. "I'll, um, go get us a table, I guess," he said, stepping around the corner into the back hallway.

"I'll go with you," Keith said.

Lance nodded and looked down the hallway for an empty table big enough to seat a group their size. There was a sofa and a cushioned chair on either side of a low table at the end of the hallway that was still unoccupied so he went there.

* * *

"You want me to stay, Pidge?" Shiro asked softly.

The green paladin blinked owlishly up at her leader and swallowed around the lump in her throat. After a second, she nodded and leaned forward so her forehead rested against Shiro's midsection. If her shoulders shook as she spoke to her mother on the phone, Shiro made no mention of it.

He looked up when he noticed Allura lingering nearby and offered her a fragile smile. Her concern was visible in her eyes. Next to her, Hunk inched towards the hallway sitting area and followed after the red and blue paladins. Shiro's heart went out to the yellow paladin. Out of their little group of Humans, Hunk's family was the farthest away at the moment. He reached out and gave his friend a comforting pat on the back. It made Hunk smile, but there was still a lingering sadness in those brown eyes.

This wasn't going to be easy for any of them, least of all the Alteans. Lance and Allura had no family to contact, no home world to go back to. They had nothing. Keith may have family somewhere but he never spoke of it. It often made Shiro wonder what went through Keith's mind when he decided to give up his life as a Galra soldier and join Team Voltron. There was so much they didn't know about each other. Maybe their time here would be their chance to fix that.

"Is there anything I can do?" Allura asked softly, reaching out to touch Pidge's shoulder but stopping just short of contact. Shiro watched her bite her lip, internally struggling with herself, before she sighed and gently squeezed Pidge's shoulder.

Shiro smiled faintly at the show of kindness. "She'll be alright," he said. "She just needs some time. Why don't you go on back to join the others? We'll follow you shortly."

"I understand what you're doing Shiro," the princess said. "But I can't do that." She lifted her gaze to her black paladin and said, "My paladins are my family. Alteans don't leave family to suffer alone. I may only be able to offer my support, but that's more than nothing."

Shiro blinked in surprise when Pidge shifted in his hold and reached up to grab Allura hand, squeezing it tightly. Pidge never stopped talking to her mother in tear-mangled words, but Shiro knew this was Pidge asking Allura to stay. He wouldn't fight that request.

"Space Dad's here too," he heard Pidge say in a muffled voice.

He sighed. This was going to be a long night. He'd better get coffee soon or he would seriously fall asleep on a bench on the sidewalk at this rate.


	64. PART 3 - 64: Chrysoprase

**A/N:** And the reunion begins. I wonder what their impromptu audience thinks? Couple FYIs. The two characters in the last part of this chapter are NOT OCs. They are canon character from _Voltron: Defenders of the Universe_ , the same series that Lotor is from. Manset, the owner of the Den Resistance lounge is from _Voltron Force_ which I have never watched, and refuse to watch because they kill off their Shiro. That's a big no-no for me.

As for the strange names, this is where I got them:

1) balea - Galician word for "whale"

2) marglytta - Icelandic word for "jellyfish"  
3) Anahita - Persian/Zoroastrian goddess of "the Waters"  
4) Nammu - Mesopotamian goddess of the primeval sea  
5) sailfin - the word I'm using for flying fish. Yes they are real and yes, they exist on Earth. They're awesome. Look them up.

 **Chapter summary:** In which the reunion begins and the leaders of the rebellion converse. **  
**

* * *

 **64: Chrysoprase - increases communication and prevents depression  
**

Mrs. Holt didn't arrive until about an hour or so later. There was no clock in the café and the Altean ticker wasn't exactly accurate for keeping track of Earth time, so Shiro couldn't know for certain how much time had passed since Pidge made the call. They'd had to return the phone to the café, something neither Pidge nor Mrs. Holt had been happy about. But Shiro knew the woman was on her way, and that was reassuring.

Ever since hanging up with her mom, Pidge had curled up in the middle of the couch between Allura and Shiro and said nothing. Hunk was busy teaching Lance and Keith how to play the game LIFE. Allura was watching the gameplay closely, despite keeping her hands busy by rubbing Pidge's back. Hunk had chosen the game because it was a good way to introduce the aliens to a generalized version of a modern life on Earth.

Lance was confused, Keith was utterly lost, but Allura was able to keep up. The dynamic between the players had been a source of amusement for Shiro and Pidge for the duration of their wait. Pidge may have said nothing, but her occasional smiles were a small victory both Shiro and Hunk took to heart.

When Mrs. Holt arrived, Shiro was the first to notice. He would tell the other later that he'd felt what he could only describe as a change in the air currents, however strange that sounded, when Mrs. Holt arrived. It felt like a rush of cold air rushed down the hallway, sending shivers up his spine. That may not have been what happened, but that's what he felt.

When he looked up, the smile he'd been wearing on his face from Keith's antics, while he tried to figure out how to put the latest child addition to his tiny car token, vanished. Mrs. Holt, her short strawberry blonde hair hanging by her face in a windblown fashion, was standing at the far end of the café's hallway close to the bar. Her brown eyes darted from table to table, desperately trying to find someone she recognized.

Shiro nudged the young green paladin next to him, startling Pidge from her thoughts. When Pidge looked up at him, he nodded to the other end of the hallway. Pidge's eyes grew round and watery when she saw her mom for the first time what was most likely months. She didn't say anything. She didn't have to, really.

Pidge just stood and bolted down the hallway towards her mother. The movement caught Mrs. Holt's attention and Shiro looked away. He saw the hug but the rest was just too personal to watch. He looked at Allura next to him instead. Her turquoise eyes were also damp but she held herself with the quiet dignity he'd come to expect from her. Even Lance was silent; his gaze dropped to his lap. Keith did watch, his ears twitching as if listening to their conversation. Shiro had no idea if the halfbreed could hear what was said or not, but the look in Keith's violet and gold eyes was too distant to be focused on the moment at hand.

Out of the whole group, only Hunk was handling the reunion well. He was smiling and spinning the wheel for his move. If Shiro hadn't known better, he would have thought the yellow paladin was ignoring the interaction entirely. But he saw the subtle glances Hunk was tossing at the mother-daughter reunion, and knew his friend was relieved for Pidge. But perhaps there was a hint of jealousy in those glances as well.

Shiro could understand that jealousy. It wasn't meant cruelly or with any desire to harm the other party. It was born of a desire to experience the same emotions Pidge and her mother were feeling. Hunk's family were far away in Hawaii, out of reach for the moment. Shiro's family were dead and gone. Everything the Alteans considered home and family were 10,000 years gone, and Keith's family was a question that remained unanswered.

Shiro would have been perfectly content to let Pidge and Mrs. Holt take their time, but they were gathering attention from the other customers which wasn't what they needed at the moment. He touched Allura's shoulder and stood, making his way around the coffee table toward the Holts. He felt the distinct prick of eyes on him but dismissed them.

"Hello, Mrs. Holt," he said softly, keeping his hands at his sides. "Why don't you come join us."

He was ready for her surprise, but not for the absolutely awestruck expression she was giving him right now. It made him feel a little uncomfortable, all things considered. Thankfully, Pidge stepped back and pulled her mom along with them to where their little group still sat at the far end of the hallway. Allura stood politely from the couch and moved to one of the two armchairs on either side so Pidge and her mother could sit together on the couch.

Shiro took the other armchair and nudged Hunk with his foot, encouraging the yellow paladin to scooch over so Mrs. Holt could slip by unhindered. No one said anything; there was nothing to say. Or at least, Shiro couldn't think of anything to say. Mrs. Holt apparently thought otherwise.

"I don't understand," she whispered, still holding her daughter close. Her eyes, however, continuously darted between Pidge, Hunk, and Shiro in disbelief. "I don't understand," she said again, louder. "You're… They said you were dead. They said your ship crashed. They said it was pilot error."

Shiro flinched, paling at the accusation. Unable to formulate a coherent response, he slouched into the armchair, leaning over to rest his forearms on his thighs and hide his face in his hands.

"Was it true?" the woman begged. "Please, tell me. Was it true? Matt, Peter, are… Are they…?"

"They're alive," Hunk said, sitting up from his place on the floor by the LIFE game board and turning to look Mrs. Holt in the eye. "Look, it's a long story but they are alive."

Mrs. Holt focused her wide, watery gaze on the yellow paladin, still trying to make heads or tails of what she was seeing let alone hearing. "Hunk?" she asked. "Hunk Palakiko?"

Hunk smiled in surprise. "Yeah," he said proudly. "You know me? Did Pidge tell you about me?"

Mrs. Holt shook her head stiffly. "They said you and Katie were missing, presumed dead," she said, her voice heavy with emotion the belayed the spark of righteous fury kindling in her eyes. "They wouldn't say how or why. Just that you were MIA."

"Whoa, _what?"_ Hunk cried, waving his hands frantically. "When did that happen? Dude, I am very much alive. Right guys?" he said, looking between his friends desperately. "Right? I mean I'm not dead, right? You guys would tell me if I was, right? I mean, Lance? You would tell your bro something important like that, right?"

Lance was silent, avoiding his gaze.

"Lance?" Hunk demanded suspiciously. "Keith?" The red paladin also avoided his gaze. "Shiro?" he turned his pleading gaze to the black paladin sitting behind him. "Shiro, please for the love of Pele, tell me I'm not dead."

Shiro sighed heavily. "No, Hunk. You're not dead," he said wearily, a slight smile tugging the corners of his lips. "I think I'd know if you were."

"Okay good," Hunk said. "At least I can depend on _someone_ _around here,"_ he said, shooting a judgmental glare at the prince and halfbreed.

Lance snorted, quickly recovering. But not fast enough to go missed by Hunk. The yellow paladin gave the blue paladin a flat glare which only served to further degrade the prince's self control.

"Hunk," Shiro said. "Leave Lance alone. Lance," he said, lifting his head to the prince, "don't tease Hunk. Keith," he looked at the halfbreed, "you're an alpha. Don't be a follower."

Keith snorted in amusement. "Never," he said smirking.

"There was no crash," Shiro said, sitting up, but finding it incredibly difficult to hold Mrs. Holt's gaze for longer than a moment. "We landed on Kerberos without any problems and began drawing ice cores from the ice sheets on the surface. We were captured by…" He glanced at the princess, silently asking permission. She pursed her lips, but nodded and he sighed. "We were captured by the Galra. As far as I know, they're still alive. I just…" He bowed his head in shame. "I just don't know where."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Mrs. Holt demanded. "Takashi Shirogane, where are my boys?"

"Whoa, boy," Hunk murmured. "She's using her Mom Voice."

"He doesn't know, Mom," Pidge said, leaning back from her mother's embrace to wipe her eyes.

"Your nose is running," Hunk said helpfully.

"Screw you Hunk," Pidge said, earning her a chuckle.

"Katie, language," Mrs. Holt said.

That set Hunk off. He all but fell over laughing. "L-language," he gasped. "She told you to…watch your…" He coughed. "Language!" And he was off again. This time even Shiro was fighting a grin.

Pidge's face was burning red as she crossed her arms over her chest and scowled at her friends fiercely. "My language is fine," she pouted.

"Whatever you say, Pidge," Hunk said, still trying to catch his breath.

Shiro huffed and had to look away to keep from laughing in Pidge's face. "Your language has certainly," he snorted, "improved."

Pidge shifted her formidable glare to the black paladin. "I heard that, Space Dad," she said, glowering.

"Space Dad?" Mrs. Holt repeated incredulously. She narrowed her gaze at Shiro. "What-?"

"Shiro's Space Dad," Hunk said.

"I am not," Shiro said.

"He's in denial too," Hunk continued, a huge, unrepentant grin on his face.

"I know where that is," Pidge said, her face a study in calm. "It's in Egypt, right?"

And Hunk lost it again. This time, Shiro didn't join in. He just rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Space Dad," Lance muttered, trying to cover his laughter too.

Even Allura snorted in a very unladylike manner.

Shiro shot the princess a betrayed look which she met with the picture of innocence. He groaned and ran his mechanical hand through his hair in exasperation. "You're all horrible," he muttered.

"You love us," Hunk chirped.

"Space Dad loves all of us," Pidge said.

"I…see," Mrs. Holt said hesitantly. "So, I understand it's a long story. This place doesn't close until 2 A.M. We have time."

"Um, yeah, about that," Hunk said, rubbing his neck awkwardly. "I don't mean to be rude or anything, but Pidge and I haven't had coffee for a month, Shiro hasn't had coffee in over a year, and these guys," he said, gesturing to Allura, Lance, and Keith, "haven't had coffee like, ever. So, you know, could you, um…"

"Could you get us coffee?" Pidge asked. "Also, did you bring the tampons I asked for?"

Mrs. Holt blinked. "Oh, yes," she said, setting her purse on her lap and digging out the requested items. "Here. Now," she closed her purse and grabbed her daughter's arm, preventing her from leaping up to make a run for the bathroom, "if I buy you coffee, will I get an explanation?"

"Yes," Shiro answered honestly. "We'd tell you anyway, but…" He shrugged. "We… _I_ really need a coffee if I'm going to stay up long enough to finish it."

Mrs. Holt gave the black paladin a look that spoke volumes of what she thought of that statement. Shiro flushed and drooped bashfully. She sighed and pulled out her purse. "Katie, come with me," she said.

"But I have to put in my-"

"Come with me or no coffee," her mother said.

Pidge instantly hopped up and followed after her mom. The tampons could wait. She knew better than to cross her mom when she used that tone with her. Janice Holt was a woman who stood by her word. If she said no coffee, she would deliver on that threat without a second thought. Even Shiro knew when to shut up and obey.

Keith sat bolted to the ground with wide eyes and his ears pinned to his head. He shuddered. "What is with you people?" he demanded, looking directly at Hunk and Shiro.

"Um, what do you mean?" Hunk asked, honestly confused.

"Are all of your women alphas?" he said in frustration.

"Not all of them," Hunk said chuckling.

"Janice is though," Shiro said, stone-faced. "Take my advice: do _not_ cross her."

Keith's ear twitched, then twitched again when Lance deliberately blew on it. The red paladin shook his head and glared at his mate who grinned and did it again, just because he could. Keith flinched back and poked Lance's damaged eye scale causing him to stiffen.

However, before he could pursue that particular move, the red paladin stiffened. Slowly, he looked up at Allura, who sat in the armchair directly behind him. He stopped flirting.

* * *

The balea moved through the water, riding the current at a sedate pace. Schools of aquatic life native to the planet swam with the behemoth of gracefully curved metal without fear. The translucent particle barriers acted as windows to the underwater world of Pollux. Here, it was peaceful, quiet, and calm. Here, only the sound of muffled footsteps echoed through the main floor of the ship.

There weren't many people aboard this transport ship at the moment, which suited her just fine. She didn't want the company of people at the moment, no matter what species they were. She wasn't fit for company. Her mind was the exact opposite of the world on the other side of the particle barriers: a tangled mass of emotion, fear, and doubt that threatened to overwhelm her if she let it. It had already invaded her sleep. What was stopping it from continuing its advance?

A jelly-like creature floated past the barrier in front of her, glowing a soft orange-gold in the water. It was the sole point of light in this deep waterworld, the lights in the ship long having been turned out to simulate night. The stars may not be visible from underwater, but the marglytta swimming in front of her was her star right now.

Its glow was soft but warm and welcoming, despite its deadly disposition. The tentacles trailing behind the gelatinous bulb of a body were delicate, almost lacy in appearance. However, their sting was something no seafarer ever forgot.

Sometimes, she wondered if she could do this. This wasn't what she had ever planned or intended to do. But here she was, sailing from the floating city of Anahita to the deepwater base Nammu. The balea she currently rode was retrofitted with a particle barrier surrounding its outer hull which helped protect it from the intense pressure of the sea water as the plunged deeper and deeper beneath the ocean's surface.

There was no real ocean floor on Pollux. Instead, there was a solid core of ice immeasurably far below. But this was no ordinary ice. This ice was not formed by cold temperatures like the glacial north and south poles. This was a special kind of ice formed due to the immense pressure of the water above. When the pressure became too much, it crushed the liquid beneath it into solid ice.

This meant there was no solid ground on all of Pollux. For this reason, engineers designed cities to float on the endless ocean's surface. Interconnected seascrapers rose approximately ten stories above the water and thirty stories below. Streamlined engines helped keep the floating cities together, although they could not fully prevent the ocean's natural desire to move and change. Thus, a signal emanated by each city continuously updated other cities, floating islands, and transport ships like the balea she currently rode of their ever drifting locations.

It was something that had become a part of her life and the lives of everyone on Pollux. The planet's unique existence had become an attraction for many species throughout the Galra Empire seeking a place to relax and escape. The citizens of Pollux had embraced this influx of visitors, but refused to change their way of life to suit them. If anyone wished to come to Pollux, they changed to suit the planet and its people. Never the other way around.

She was proud to call Pollux her home. Its people stood strong, digging their heels in at every attempt to coerce them to change. They moved with the sea, changing with it and it only. She sighed. If only she could find it within herself to return to that state of mind.

"Romelle?"

She stiffened, blinking back to herself. The marglytta had long swam away leaving the balea in nothing but its natural ambient, blue glow. She turned to her guest without fear.

"I am here," she said.

"What are you doing up?" her cousin asked, walking across the floor towards her. The plants filling the decorative bowl in the center of the floor moved when the air was disturbed by her cousin's movement. "We still have several hours left to sail."

Romelle shrugged. "I couldn't sleep," she said simply, facing the barrier once more.

Brandor groaned. "You know you can't lead us well when you're tired," he chided. "Besides, we haven't finished receiving the latest communiques from our contacts. There's nothing to listen to or report as of yet."

"I know," she said, wrapping her arms around herself in a self-comforting gesture. "I just need to calm down before I face the others. The last message we received was…not what I expected and I need to think about how we're going to respond to it."

Brandor snorted. "I'm still not sure if I believe it myself," he said, shaking his head with a grin. "Sendak dead? I have a hard time believing it. It's almost as unbelievable as all the talk about this 'Voltron' character," he said. "Honestly, what kind of name is 'Voltron,' anyway? For a secret identity, it's a bad cover name."

Romelle chuckled despite herself, knocking her fist against her cousin's head in a teasing manner. "It is bad," she admitted. "But I've heard worse."

"Oh yeah?" her cousin asked. "Like what?

"Like Brandor," she answered with a sly grin.

Brandor gave her a flat stare. "At least my name's not Romelle," he said, waving his hand disdainfully. "Too gentle and graceful. I can't think of anyone who matches that description, can you? I mean really. When have either of us met someone as elegant and genteel as a 'Romelle'?"

"I will hurt you."

"You couldn't if you tried."

"Why do I tolerate you?"

"Because I'm your cousin."

"Not good enough."

"Because I'm an excellent friend and confidant."

Romelle snorted, sticking her tongue out at him. "You think too highly if yourself."

"You're right, I do," Brandor said dramatically. "I confess," he said, placing a hand over his heart in a theatrical display or remorse, "I do indeed think too highly of myself. My ego soars above the oceans of Pollux like a sailfin. It is a pity that I cannot soar higher." He fought a smile when Romelle's laughter filled his ears. "At least, I can take heart knowing that my ego doesn't have the power to sink a ship from its moorings, like another I know. What was that name again? Ah yes. Romelle."

"I will hurt you!" Romelle shrieked, playfully pouncing on her cousin and throttling him. She was no match for him in a battle of strength, but who said they were fighting over anything serious? Tickles worked as perfect offensive weapons after all.

"Gah! Quiznack! I surrender!" Brandor shouted. "Romelle stop! I surrender!"

Satisfied with her victory, Romelle tossed her ash blonde hair over her shoulder and huffed. "Admit it, I see," she said. "I accept."

Brandor pushed her off of him and stood, staggering as he struggled to catch his breath. "I am going to bed," he said. "Some of us have an ego to nurse after all. Others, like me, just really like to sleep. He winked at her and then ran, his cousin hot on his heels hollering at him between laughing.

He may have had some trouble falling asleep later on, but he didn't regret it. He'd gotten a smile out of his cousin. It hadn't been as easy to come by since her stint under Lotor's care. At least she was free and back on Pollux where she belonged. The rebellion had taken a beating after losing her. Romelle was their pinnacle of hope for the rebellion.

She'd been the one to lead most of the charges and infiltrations. When she had been captured, the rebellion's morale had dropped. It had taken the help of one of their deep cover operatives for Brandor to get Romelle out.

Hopefully, now that their little rebellion was aware of her return, they would rally behind Romelle once more and begin their assault. It had taken years to get where they are now. The whispers of Voltron were the opportunity they'd been waiting for. Who were they to refuse such a well-timed gift?


	65. PART 3 - 65: Larimar

**A/N:** I may not be able to update tomorrow because I have to finish working on a group project that's due this Thursday and it's a little intimidating. I'll try, just no guarantees. Sorry. In the meantime, I hop you enjoy this. I've given it a rough edit as usual, but I'll look it over more seriously tomorrow. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Rover saves Coran yet again, Pidge makes dad jokes, and Allura gets some uneasy news.

* * *

 **65: Larimar - confidence builder, helps reduce depression, enhances psychic abilities**

When Coran opened his eyes again, he was warmer and his limbs were responding properly to his mental commands once more. A familiar beep caught his attention and he sat up carefully, noticing the small hoverbot sitting on his bed watching him through its camera eye. He vaguely remembered his first few tecks out of the cryopod. He'd been disoriented and so cold his body could barely stop shaking. The time curled up in his bed had warmed him, but it hadn't calmed his nerves.

He placed a hand on Rover's pointed casing and patted it gently. "Thank you, dear friend," he said. "That was decidedly…most uncomfortable."

Rover hopped across the bedding and rocked side to side, beeping what sounded like a question.

Yes," Coran said nodding. "I'm feeling much better now. Thank you. Although," he said, sliding his feet out from under the covers and standing with care, "I think you and I should look into that little incident, hm? I don't think that was normal."

Rover beeped and lifted up from the bedspread to hover by the Altean advisor's ear. It nudged Coran slightly in an effort to get his attention. Curious, the advisor looked at the hoverbot and waited for it to communicate what it wanted. Strangely, Rover just kept nudging Coran forward, towards the hallway.

"Yes, yes," Coran said. "I'm going. I'm going."

"When he started walking down the hallway to the left, Rover beeped, flew around him, and bumped him in the chest.

"My goodness."

Rover pushed harder against the advisor's body until Coran took the hint and began walking the other way. Only then did it stop pushing and fly around so it moved in front of Coran, guiding the way.

"Where are we going, Rover?" Coran asked. "Is there something you want to show me? Can it wait? I have to check on the Castle's systems for any flaws or-"

Rover beeped and flashed, turning and flying up into Coran's face.

"Oh, I see," Coran said, smiling awkwardly. "Carry on then."

Bobbing as if in a mimicry of a nod, Rover spun around and continued to guide Coran down the hall to the lift. Once inside, Rover punching its body into one of the command buttons causing the lift to move slowly downwards. Coran was burning with curiosity, but considering the last time he'd question's the hoverbot's intentions, he wisely kept his mouth shut.

When he stepped out of the lift, he was surprised to see he was in the hanger floor. The hallway in front of him, fanned out around the lift allowing access to each of the Voltron Lions' hanger bays.

"What are we doing here?" he muttered absently.

Rover darted ahead of Coran, stopping and waiting by the Green Lion's hanger for Coran to join it. Then it opened the door and flew inside. The hanger floor was mostly bare except for a few scattered tools and computers in a shallow alcove to the left of the towering Green Lion. Pidge had clearly been at work on something.

He chuckled to himself in fond amusement before his eye caught sight of something that drained all color from his face. The Galra crystal, in all its oppressive purple magnificence was sitting by Pidge's work station with sensors attaching it to the green paladin's equipment. Pidge must have been studying it, which was perfectly understandable and worth it.

But considering his recent, erm, misadventure with the healing pod that abruptly reverted to its cryogenic programming without the authenticated approval of Coran, the advisor was disconcerted. The crystal pulsed like a perverted heartbeat of violet light. It brought back memories Coran knew he would never truly be able to forget. Which brought to mind…

"Rover," he said. "Is Sendak still in his prison pod?" The hoverbot turned side to side in a semblance of a negative response and Coran hummed. "Help me unplug that Galra crystal from the Castle and we'll go check. We can take a look at the memory core as well. Hopefully, the extraction will have made some progress."

Without waiting for a response, Coran approached the Galra crystal and removed the sensors reached out to remove the sensors from its surface. He never made it close enough. He had a moment to wonder why he was suddenly moving upwards when he realized to his horror that he was weightless.

He cried out in shock and flailed, trying to grab something to anchor him to the floor.

"No," Coran gasped. "The artificial gravity must have been turned off. But how…"

He almost reached Pidge's floating desk. His fingertip touched the edge of the furniture which, unfortunately, knocked it away from him.

"Gah! Come back here this instant," he commanded, wriggling his fingers desperately for the desk that continued to spin lazily out of his reach.

Rover flashed, then flew up through the floating items and bumped into Coran's back, sending him sailing through the air towards the desk. He missed the desk, but managed to grab a hold of the pulsing Galra crystal.

"Thank you friend," Coran said. "Now you just wait right then while I pull these sensors off."

The advisor began systematically peeling off the sticky sensors Pidge had attached to the Galra crystal. There were quite a few of them, so it took a teck or two. He was almost done when he heard the distinct hissing sound of a Castle door sliding open. An instant later, he was plummeting to the ground landing on his hands and knees accompanied by the sound a something shattering.

Coran cried out and cradled his hand close to his chest, gripping his injured left thumb tightly. He looked up to see the purple crystal broken in several huge chunks surrounded by thousands of smaller shards scattered across the floor as far as the hanger door. When he followed the trail of shards, Coran noticed Rover bouncing happily by the access panel for the door.

The hoverbot must have determined the loss of gravity had been limited to this room. If that was true, then opening the door to the hallway and lift beyond would equalize the gravity in this room thus returning it to normal.

"Good job," he said proudly, smiling at the hoverbot while still clutching his aching thumb. He had most likely jammed it. He would need to bind it soon to keep it from swelling, but first he needed to determine what by the Lions was going on with this ship.

He pulled off the last couple sensors from the broken crystal just in case before standing and joining the hoverbot by the doorway. "Alright, Rover. Where to now?" he asked.

* * *

Shiro winced, honestly afraid of what Jance Holt would think of all of this. They'd sprung their story on her without really giving her a chance to process the news that her daughter was alive, Shiro was alive, and her husband and son were alive but lost before filling her in on the whole alien dark elf-bat crossbreed things. Not to mention the giant, robot Lions was something even Team Voltron had trouble comprehending at times. It did all sound rather fantastic when he sat down and actually thought about. Which was why he preferred not to think about it. It made his head hurt too much.

Mrs. Holt sighed long and slow through her nose, eyeing the group with eyes that were hard to read. "Lions?" she said, her tone speaking volumes of how much credibility she was putting in their story.

Shiro groaned and let his shoulders slump. "Look, I know it's hard to believe, but it's true," he said.

"No actually, that makes sense."

"I know, man," Hunk agreed wearily. "Lions don't just fly- wait, what? You believe us?" he gasped.

"I saw the video of a yellow lion flying in the sky," Mrs. Holt said, nodding. "It's gone viral, or so I'm told. The news has been all over the news since it broke."

"Oh, oh no," Hunk said. "How did the news know about that? We were just off of Garrison property when we found the Yellow Lion," he said, turning to Shiro as if he knew the answer.

Shiro just shrugged helplessly. "Don't look at me," he said. "I've been out of the loop for over a year."

"Oh yeah," he said. "Forgot about that."

"The Galaxy Garrison is currently being investigated for concealing potentially dangerous information, conspiracy to kidnapping-"

"Kidnapping?" Pidge squawked in disbelief.

"-as well as deliberately defrauding the government and its civilian financial supporters," Mrs. Holt finished. "Commander Iverson was the one who brought the information to light."

Iverson?" Hunk gasped.

"That jerk?" Pidge said. "He always acted like he had a stick up his ass."

"Katie, watch your language," Pidge's mother said sternly.

Shiro had to fight to hold back his laughter, glancing up at Allura sitting across from him. The princess was smiling proudly at Mrs. Holt with a devious twinkle in her eye. "Glad to know someone has a level of decorum here," she said.

"Oh don't act all high and mighty, princess," Pidge snapped, crossing her arms in a huff. "You curse often enough."

"Only when I'm upset or scolding my brother," Allura said, brushing several stark white strands of hair over her shoulder primly.

"Or when your mad Keith went and fucked hi-"

"Katie Ann Holt," Janice said, not noticing the burning blush on Lance's face. "I know I taught you better than this. Unless you want your computer allowances to continue, you will watch your language."

Hunk snickered. "You have computer allowances?" he asked between gasping for breath.

"I was in the middle of building a computer when…" Her brown eyes flitting to Shiro briefly. You know," she finished lamely.

Shiro frown and nodded sadly.

"On that note," the prince said, pushing himself up from the floor. "Allura, if I could have a word."

The princess furrowed her brow in bewilderment but nodded and followed nonetheless. Keith didn't get up, but watched them go his ears twitching as they struggled to pick up what was undoubtedly being sad.

"How are you doing that?"

"Keith," Shiro said, jolting the red paladin back to the present. When the halfbreed's unusual eyes focused on him, the black paladin nodded to Mrs. Holt. "She asked you a question," he said.

Eyeing his leader warily, Keith sighed and turned his attention to Pidge's mother, waiting for her to speak.

"How are you doing that?" Mrs. Holt asked, gesturing to something above her head.

Shiro blinked in surprise and chuckled.

"Doing what?" Keith asked in confusion.

"Moving your ears."

Keith made a face. "By thinking about it," he said.

"They're real," Hunk said, grinning. "All Galra have them."

"Most do," Keith corrected. "The reptilian subspecies don't have them. They have bony protrusions that look that ears but aren't."

"Reptilian? You mean like Haxus?" Pidge hissed angrily.

"Exactly," Keith said nodding. "Their ears are holes directly beneath the visible bone."

"You're Galra?" Mrs. Holt asked

"Halfbreed actually," Shiro said, speaking up in the red paladin's defense. "He's a member of Team Voltron. He's helped us on numerous occasions."

"So you're an alien?"

Keith tensed. "Well," he said slowly, "technically you all are the aliens to me."

"And those two?" Mrs. Holt said, nodding to where Lance and Allura sat at one of the tables far enough away to speak privately. "Are they…aliens as well?"

"Yes," Shiro said. "They're Altean. It was their people who originally built Voltron."

"The flying Lions?" Janice said, obviously doing her best to understand.

"Right," Shiro said. "We each pilot one of the Lions. I pilot the Black Lion, Hunk pilots the Yellow Lion which is probably the one you saw in that video, Pidge pilots the Green Lion, Keith pilots the Red Lion, and Lance," he pointed to the prince, "pilots the Blue Lion."

"What about Allura?"

"She pilots the Castleship and controls the weapons," Pidge said proudly. "She can also open wormholes."

Mrs. Holt took a deep breath. "I am trying to believe you," she said. "I promise, I'm trying. But this is all," he winced, "a bit far-fetched."

'Yeah," Pidge said, a sly grin working its way across her face. "You could almost say it's stellar."

Shiro groaned but Hunk cackled. "Ooh, good one Pidge," he said proudly.

Keith just looked between the Humans in confusion. "I don't understand."

* * *

"I don't like it," Allura said firmly.

"You don't have to," Lance said. "A trade is a trade. You know that."

"But this is a side matter," she insisted. "Fighting Zarkon and the Galra Empire has to take precedence over a simple trade."

"Maybe," Lance said, nodding in acknowledgement. "But they made a promise to Keith that they are taking quite a few risks to uphold. They have integrity."

"Except when they kidnapped me and Shiro," the princess said ruefully.

Lance slumped. "Yes, except that," he admitted reluctantly. "But that aside, they are still my spies now. They're helping me as well as Keith. The least I can do is meet them for something minor like this."

"You and I both know this won't be just a minor thing," Allura said. "Why would they ask you to come in person anyway?"

Lance sighed. "I don't know," he said. "Whatever Keith asked for is apparently considered dangerous by some which is making it hard for Nyma and Rolo to get their hands on it."

"And they want you to confirm that it's not toxic," Allura said. "That just reeks of suspicious activity."

"Technically, we're committing treason simply be existing," Lance said. "Why not add something else to our ever-growing list of offenses?"

Allura huffed a laugh and nodded. "I'll give you that," she said. "Alright. You and Keith can go. But," she said, holding up a finger and schooling her expression to something Lance associated more with his mother then his sister, "I expect regular updates. Also, if you even think there's danger, I want you to get out of there. Voltron and fighting the Galra have to be our priority. Everything else needs to be set aside."

I can't do that," Lance said honestly. "And neither can you. I've seen you watching him, don't bother denying it. You know he looks at you the same way."

"We're not talking about this," Allura said in a warning tone.

"Then when are you going to talk about it?" Lance demanded, leaning forward over the small table so he didn't have to raise his voice. "We could literally die any day. Why leave something like that to chance?"

"Because we're going to die anyway."

"Of course we're going to die," Lance hissed. "Everything dies. That's the way of things. That doesn't stop the majority of the universe. Why does it stop you?"

"Lance," the princess snapped. "Enough."

Reluctantly, Lance retreated. "This isn't over," he said. "I'm sick and tired of watching you wallow. But if that's what you want to do, then far be it from me to stop you."

"We should as Coran to check on Sendak's memory core," Allura said, abruptly changing the subject.

The prince narrowed his eyes in cold glare. "Fine," he said. "Change the subject. But you aren't getting out of this talk, sister."

"I'll have Coran look into it," Allura said, ignoring her brother's words. "We'll look through what we get and see if there's anything we can investigate while you and Keith head to Meserie."

Lance rolled his eyes. "Alright," he said. "You, Shiro, Hunk, and Pidge take care of that while Keith and I meet with Nyma and Rolo. That'll take care of two things at once. _If_ anything can be recovered from that quiznack's mind in the first place. There may not be anything useful."

"Well let's hope that's not the case." The princess looked back at her team and sighed. "I'm worried about how you and Shiro are handling this. This isn't the most common form of interrogation."

"Or the most efficient," Lance agreed with a wince. He dropped his gaze in discomfort. "Honestly, sister, I was hoping you had just let him die when Keith stabbed him."

Allura bit her lip. "I wanted him to stay dead," she said. "But we need information."

"That we could just as easily have been retrieved through spies and captured Galra drones," Lance said.

"I know I may not have made the best decision," she admitted. "But I needed information and he was the best available source at the time."

"Keith stabbed him," Lance said, staring at his sister in disbelief. "She should have died."

"He didn't deserve to die like that," Allura hissed viciously, startling her brother with the intensity of her anger. "He deserved to have his unfeeling heart ripped from his chest and forced down his throat. Keith was too merciful. I want him to suffer. I want him to know that my brother, my paladins, my team, my _family_ is off limits."

Lance blinked. Allura met both his biological and mechanical eye boldly. She stood from her chair and walked around the table to sit next to her brother. "We've lost our family, our home, our way of life," she said gently, reaching up to press her thumb against Lance's left eye scale. "Don't make me lose you too."

She pressed her other thumb against Lance's damaged eye scale and touched her forehead to his. He mirrored her gesture and closed his eyes, allowing himself to feel his sister's emotions. They rippled just beneath his senses like a living, breathing thing that promised him all of her secrets if he just reached out and touched.

But there was something else as well, something else that rippled and flowed. It was there, just at the edge of his senses. He could almost see it.

Then Allura was pulling away from him and he snapped back to himself blinking stupidly. Allura was holding a small communicator to her ear and listening to it closely. Whatever she heard made her give a small gasp of surprise. She lifted her gaze to Lance and said something that filled her brother with grim trepidation.

"It's Coran. Sendak's memory core is almost full."


	66. PART 3 - 66: Jade

**A/N:** It was brought to my attention that Mr. Holt actually has a name: Samuel. Somehow I missed that and gave him the name "Peter." I've corrected that and Mr. Holt will be "Samuel" from here on out. If any of y'all notice mistakes like that, let me know. If I've done it deliberately, I'll let you know. But if it was an accident, I can correct it. As usual, I've given this a rough one-over and will correct it more seriously tomorrow.

Also, as a friendly FYI, the darkness begins to peak out from behind the curtain of fluff in this chapter.

 **Chapter summary:** In which Lance has a few words with Shiro and Keith, not all good ones. **  
**

* * *

 **65: Jade - reduces negativity, will bring wisdom, stone of fidelity  
**

Shiro held his fresh cup of steaming hot, black coffee close to his face and just stared at it. His first cup he'd guzzled pretty quickly during their talk with Mrs. Holt. But this one he planned to savor for as long as he could. They planned on stocking up on coffee, but even stocks ran out eventually and who knew when they'd be able to come back to Earth for more coffee. He had to treasure what he had while he had it and the memory of it after it was gone.

He may or may not have whimpered at that particularly depressing though. He never wanted coffee to be gone.

"You okay there, Shiro?" Hunk asked, patting the black paladin's back in friendly concern.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, I'm fine," he said. "I just…" He shrugged and smiled ruefully. "I guess I'm just a bit homesick."

Hunk smiled. "Yeah, I know what you mean," he said. "I've only been in space for a month and already Earth feels weird. I've gotten used to the feeling of being in a space ship with gravity that's weaker than Earth's and slightly thinner air. Not to mention the green food goo and the whole Voltron Lions thing and all that." Both paladin chuckled.

"Now that I'm back here, though," Hunk continued softly, looking around at the people in the café with them. "I feel like I'm out of place. That I don't really belong here anymore, no matter how badly I want to."

Shiro sighed, staring down at his coffee in grim understanding. "I…" He paused to gather his thoughts. "I'd like to grab a few things from Janice's place," he said slowly. "A few sets of clothes, personal items, and…" he flushed, "my parents' shrine."

Hunk's smile faded. "I'm sorry," he said. "I… I mean I can't imagine what that feels like. Both of my parents are alive and well last time I checked. I'll know for sure when I try to call them on the Internet tomorrow."

Shiro laughed. "I hope they're still alive and well," he said, smiling fondly at his younger friend. He winced when the yellow paladin wilted. "Hey, don't worry. I'll be fine. I've had a few years to recover."

"I don't know if anyone ever recovers from a loss like that though," Hunk said. "I think we just learn to adapt to our surroundings much easier and quicker than we give ourselves credit for."

"I'll drink to that," Shiro said, taking a huge gulp of his still burning hot coffee, appreciating the burn on the back of his throat.

Hunk let out a jolly belly laugh at his friend which echoed in the café, attracting a plethora of looks. Some of the people only glanced at him briefly before returning to their tasks. But a couple others had to do double-takes. One person held up a phone and went to snap a picture when someone walked in front of her. She grumbled until she looked up from her phone to see who was blocking her view. Then she decided a video was a better idea.

"Coran contacted us," Allura said, cutting off Hunk's laughter and drawing the attention of the group. Her dark face was drawn with worry as she lifted her gaze from the small communicator in her hand to her paladins. "He says Sendak's memory core is almost full."

Her gaze moved to Shiro who immediate sat bolt upright at the news. "Let me talk to him," he said, standing. "Please, I know I can get to him."

The princess grimaced but nodded reluctantly. "Alright," she said. "Lance will be taking me and Shiro back to the Castle. Hunk, Pidge, feel free to stay and take care of anything you need to," she said gently. "Lance will be coming back to join you as soon Shiro and I are settled."

"I'm going with you," Keith said standing and looking directly at Lance.

"No, Keith," Allura said. "I need you to stay with Hunk and Pidge."

"We don't need a babysitter," Pidge groused.

"I know," the princess said placatingly. "That's not what I meant. I want Keith to-"

"It's okay. I'll stay," Lance said, startling his sister who stared at him with wide eyes. "Keith can fly you two to the Castle and back while I stay with Pidge and Hunk." He smiled deviously. "Unless you don't trust me, sister dearest."

"Not as far as I can throw you," Allura said, giving her brother a flat stare.

The prince snickered. "Then I suppose a good space hop will help with your trust issues," he said with a grin. "But before you go, Shiro, a word?"

Allura's stare became a glare. "Lance," she said warning.

"Nothing dire sister. Nothing dire," he said, waving Allura's concern aside. "I just have a few questions for him, is all. Shiro," he said, "come with me."

Shiro glanced between the sibling in suspicion before nodding and following Lance down the café hall towards the exit.

"Wait," Keith said loudly, chasing after the prince. "When will you be ready to leave?"

"When Allura is," Lance said. His eyes narrowed. "Why? Do you need something?"

"I need to have a word with I before we leave," he said.

Lance nodded. "Alright." Then he grinned and flicked one of Keith's ears earning him a warning growl that did the exact opposite of intimidate him. He winked and tugged Shiro after him, smirking at the black paladin's blush.

They never noticed the girl quickly lower her phone and type something on it before setting it down on the table and whispering to her companions in excited tones.

* * *

"What did you want, Lance?" Shiro asked when they stepped out of the warm and welcoming café into the brisk night.

Lance ignored him, hopping up the steps to the café's deck by the parking lot. He took a seat at one of the wrought iron tables and waited for Shiro to join him. When the black paladin finally sat down in front of him, Lance crossed his arms and said, "You like my sister."

Shiro blinked in surprise, a brilliant flush coloring his cheeks a deep crimson that rivaled the Red Lion's body. "I…yes," he said, running a hand through his hair nervously. "She's a," he cleared his through awkwardly, "um, a fine princess."

Lance lifted one of his eyebrows all the way to his hairline. "And?" he asked.

The black paladin's blush darkened further and he ducked his head. "And she's pretty."

"That's all you can do?" Lance said in growing annoyance.

Shiro took a deep breath and blew it out in one long sigh. "I think she's the prettiest woman I've ever seen," he said, avoiding the prince's eyes. "She's smart, clever, strong, independent, wise, a great leader, and just…" He spread his hands as if to show his inability to express his feelings. "She's just…amazing."

"So you like her," Lance said, his lips quirking upwards at the corners.

"Yes," Shiro said, finally meeting the prince's gaze. "Yes, I do."

"Good," Lance said, startling the black paladin, "because she likes you too and quite frankly I'm tired of this careful dancing around the subject the two of you have been doing. It's partially a product of her being a diplomat and taking care not to tread of your people's culture and traditions and partially personal reasons."

Lance's gaze skipped to the side nervously which Shiro noticed, raising several questions.

"Reasons that you agree with?" he asked boldly. "Or reasons you have too?"

The prince hesitated. "Reasons I share," he said, "but can't tell you because I promised Allura I wouldn't tell and I won't break that oath."

Shiro nodded. "Alright, then I won't press," he said. "But I have to ask, was it something I did or said?"

"No," Lance said, shaking his head. "It has very little to do with you. It only involves you indirectly simply because she likes you."

Shiro leaned back in his chair in acquiescence. "Okay," he said. "So you're basically giving me the shovel talk."

"Lance blinked in confusion. "The what?"

"The shovel talk," Shiro said, smiling. "It's what we call that talk friends or relatives of someone give that person's potential partner. It usually involves something along the lines of 'Hurt so-and-so and I'll make you dig your own grave,' or something like that."

Lance threw his head back and laughed. "No, I'm not doing that," he said. "If I thought you hurt Allura, I wouldn't bury you."

"Oh that's-"

"I'd space you. No mess to deal with," Lance finished with a wink.

"Oh."

"That said," Lance leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table and looking Shiro directly in the eye, "watch my sister, please."

"I will," Shiro promised. "I'll protect her with my life."

"Thank you but that's not what I meant," Lance said seriously, shaking his head. "I mean _watch_ her. Talk to her, notice her, court her. If you court her she'll have no choice but to acknowledge you as a potential life partner."

Shiro blushed again and rubbed the back of his neck. "She won't mind?" he asked. "I don't want to force her hand or anything."

Lance shook his head. "You won't be," he assured his friend. "If anything, you're telling her you're an option. It's up to her to choose you or not."

Shiro nodded. "Thank you," he said after a minute. "I needed to know that."

"Not a problem," Lance said. "There was another reason why I brought you out here actually." Shiro tilted his head curiously and Lance thought carefully about his next words. "I think something is wrong with the ship," he said finally. "Coran wasn't specific in his message, but he mentioned a few…malfunctions that have been causing him some trouble."

"What kind of malfunctions?" Shiro asked suspiciously.

"Coran didn't say, but he sounded," he tilted his head thoughtfully, "winded, shall we say."

"I see." Shiro narrowed his eyes and rubbing his chin. "I'll keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Do you think the malfunctions are malicious?"

"I'm not sure and neither is Allura," Lance said. "But S-Sendak did have his crystal plugged into the Castle's systems for a good while before Hunk and Coran were able to replace it with a Balmeran crystal."

"Would that do anything?"

Lance nodded, absently trailing a finger along his scar. "You're aware the Balmeran crystals are solidified quintessence from the Balmera," he said, waiting for Shiro to nod before continuing. "The Castle has quintessence infused in it as well. It's not enough to develop a consciousness per se, but it is alive in the most basic sense. It's also a computer. What happens to a computer or a life form when a malicious parasite is introduced to it?"

"It get's sick," Shiro said darkly. "We call those viruses. A computer virus can do anything from be annoying to completely destroy the device. A biological virus can do much the same."

Lance nodded. "The Galra crystal is also solidified quintessence from a Balmera, but its been," he shuddered, "perverted somehow. I'm not exactly sure how and I'm not sure I want to know, but that's essentially what makes the Galra crystal different from our current crystal even if they're both originally from the same creature."

"And you think the Galra crystal's quintessence is acting as a virus infecting the Castle's computer systems," Shiro said.

"That's what Allura thinks, yes," Lance said. "And I agree, it makes sense. But the Castle's systems should be able to quarantine the foreign quintessence and purge it over time."

"But that isn't what's happening here."

"No," Lance said, shaking his head. His biological eye sparkled with worry.

"If you can have Coran run a scan on the Castle's computer systems and have Keith bring me the results so I can look through them, that would be very helpful," Lance said.

Shiro nodded. "I can do that."

"Thank you."

"Not a problem," Shiro said.

Lance smiled gratefully before being distracted by the café door opening. Shiro turned, following the prince's gaze and bit back a smile when he saw Keith standing there.

"I'll leave you two alone," he said, politely standing and excusing himself.

Lance nodded to his with a brief smile before following Keith with his eyes. Shiro quickly made his way down the deck steps, patting the red paladin on the shoulder with an encouraging smile as he went, and walked back inside to find Allura and the others.

* * *

"Is something wrong?" Lance asked.

"I was going to ask you that," Keithek said, taking the seat next to his mate rather than the one across the table that Shiro had vacated. "Why are you and Allura being so secretive?"

"Secretive?" Lance asked. "I don't understand. We're not trying to be secretive."

"Something is bothering you," Keithek said firmly. "I can practically smell it on you. What is it?"

The prince sighed. "Nothing, I promise," he said.

"Don't lie to me."

"I'm not lying," Lance said, his tone curt in warning. "We've received some disturbing knew that neither of us know what to make of yet," he admitted. "There was no reason to tell you because it doesn't involve you."

"But it does," Keithek argued, placing his hand possessively on his mate's thigh and leaning close. "It involves my mate, therefore it involves me. It's my job to protect you. Let me do my job."

"I don't need protecting Keith," Lance said, rolling his eyes. He stiffened when Keithek gripped his chin and turned his head so he had no choice but to look the halfbreed in the eye. "Keith…" he said, instinctively leaning away from his mate.

Keithek said nothing. Instead he stared hard at Lance, reading the emotions flickering across his biological eye, smelling the mixture of scents coming off the Altean in wafts, and listening to Lance's breathing patterns.

"What's bothering you?" he demanded, his ears erect and facing forward to catch every nuance in his mate's voice. "Tell me."

Lance pressed his lips together. "Something's wrong with the Castle, I think," he said reluctantly. "It's probably not serious, but it was noticeable enough for Coran to mention it. I've asked Shiro to have you bring the ship's diagnostic results to me when you return. Allura and Coran can work on the problem from there while I study it remotely."

Keithek nodded but did not release his grip. "That's not the problem," he said firmly. "There's something else bothering you."

He leaned forward and pressed his nose in his mate's hair by the dark pointed ear closest to him. Lance sighed and closed his eyes, but otherwise remained still.

"You're stressed about something," Keith whispered by Lance's ear. "Tell me what it is."

He let his fingers ease their grip and slide down the other side of his mate's throat to settle on his Mark, massaging the spot gently.

"Please," Lance whispered. Keithek's ear twitched when his mate's hot breath brushed it. "It's nothing, I promise."

"It may be nothing," Keithek said softly, pressing his lips to his mate's ear, brushing the skin with every word. "But it's still bothering you." He nuzzled the pointed ear, appreciating the shudder it caused. "Tell me."

He felt his fingers move when Lance swallowed.

"It…" Lance said, stopping abruptly. After a teck, the prince sighed. "I'll tell you when you come back from the Castle," he said. "Give me that."

"Alright," Keithek said, placing a kiss to the inner curve of his mate's ear before leaning back. "I'll wait until then. But only if you promise to tell me."

Lance flushed indignantly. "Are you saying you don't trust me?" he asked.

"No," Keithek said. "I'm saying I expect you to tell me _everything_ then, not a truncated version."

Lance paled and looked away. He pushed his chair back and stood. "I'll think about it," he said, stepping around Keithek towards the deck steps.

Keithek held out an arm, catching Lance by the waist and yanking him down into his lap, startling a yelp from his mate. Lance landed on the red paladin's lap in an inelegant sprawl. Before he could say anything, Keithek gripped his chin and pulled him up into a kiss effectively silencing him.

Keithek pushed his tongue into Lance's cool mouth, leaning down until his mate's head rested against the table's edge. He slipped one hand around Lance's back and up his spine to gently grip his mate's delicate neck, lifting it slightly so the edge of the table didn't dig into it. He received no resistance from Lance to the abrupt change in position. In fact, the prince seemed to enjoy the mood shift, humming into the kiss and teasing Keithek's tongue with his own.

Keithek pride swell in his chest when he heard the hum, rubbing the back of Lance's neck gently as a reward. Lance's left hand slid around Keithek's back, pausing in over the red paladin's spine between the shoulder blades and flattened, pressing the halfbreed closer. The chill of his mate's hand seeped through Keithek's clothes like water on sand. Keithek willingly leaned closer just as Lance arched his chest up and tucked his legs a bit so he could have more leverage in the kiss.

"Get a room!"

Lance broke the kiss and let his head fall back in laughter, despite the blush on Keithek's face. "If you really want us to get a room," Lance said, rolling his head so he could see the person who called them out, "then why are you looking? Unless you want to join?" he asked with a teasing wink.

Keithek growled, his ears folding back against his head, and jerk Lance upright. The motion tossed the prince against Keithek's chest, something the prince found amusing if the sly grin was any indication. Lance leaned his head forward, sighing as he did so, and nuzzled Keithek's cheek fondly.

"Does it make you jealous?" he asked. "Me flirting with other people."

"You're mine," Keithek hissed, feeling his mate's unnaturally cool skin brush his. He lift his left hand and held Lance's neck like a vice, preventing him from pulling away. "I don't share."

Lance laughed breathlessly. "No, I don't suppose you do," he said, an audible smile in his voice. "Too bad I enjoy your reactions too much to stop," he added, flicking his tongue out to touch Keithek's cheek.

The halfbreed stiffened and stared hungrily at the captive Altean in his arms. "There are ways to deal with rebellious mates," he said, his eyes never breaking from Lance's bionic and mechanic eyes.

"Really?" Lance asked. "Like what?"

Keith leaned his head close so his lips brushed tantalizingly against his mate's. "Most involve restraints," he said, enjoying the way Lance's lips parted at his words. "Both physical and verbal." Lance's breath fluttered. "Never to harm," Keithek said, "just to enhance. Although," he drew the index finger of his free hand along Lance's jawline, "I wouldn't mind seeing you on your beneath me with your wrists bound above your head and this," he cupped Lance's penis, causing his mate's entire body to jolt, "in my mouth as I work you to completion."

He knew the instant something was wrong. The scent he'd been enjoyed soured into something else, something more like fear. He felt Lance's pulse stutter then slow down from the heightened state of excitement. The coolness of the prince's skin that Keithek had been enjoying suddenly became icy to the touch. The light of desire in his mate's eye died.

Lance shifted, kicking his legs out of Keithek's lap and stood, running his hands through his hair attempting to look presentable. Keithek remained seated, still trying to process what just happened.

"I'm sorry," he said, lifting his gaze to his mate who avoided it. "Lance. Lance," he said again, standing and reaching for his mate's wrist.

Lance shook his wrist free. "I'll see you when you get back," he said. "I'll go inform Allura you're ready to go."

"Wait," Keithek said, following his mate down the steps. He moved so he stood between the prince and the café door. "Wait. Tell me what I did that bothered you."

"It's nothing you did."

"Don't lie."

The spark returned to Lance's eye, but this was not from desire. It was from carefully contained fury. "I have never lied to you nor am I lying now," he said in a cold tone. "I do not lie."

"Then tell me what I did that offended you," Keithek said. "Whatever it was, I need to know so I don't do it again."

"It wasn't anything you did," Lance said again. "Now stop asking and let me by." He stepped to the left but was Keithek moved with him. He moved right and again Keithek mirror him. "Do not make me force you to move," he warned.

"If it wasn't something I did, then why won't you tell me what's bothering you?" Keithek said in exasperation.

"Because there's nothing you can do about it!" the prince hissed. "It has nothing to do with you and everything to do with me. It's a part of my nature. It cannot be changed and you need to stop asking."

"If I can't fix it or change it, then tell me what I can do to alleviate," Keithek demanded.

"You're not listening," Lance said. "There is nothing you can do so stop asking."

"Why won't you tell-"

"I'm _sterile!"_ Lance snapped furiously. "I've never come for you and I never will. I can't even feel arousal. It's nothing against you, I'm simply physically incapable of it. Nothing you say or do can ever fix that. The one thing that would have worked is extinct and that's that. I've accepted this, I've come to terms with it. Doesn't mean I like -in fact, I _hate_ it- but there's nothing I can do about it. So I deal with it."

Lance was gasping when he was done and the telltale shine of tears brimmed the prince's eyes. "Now," Lance said in a cold voice that had lost its power, "for the love of the Lions, move."

Keithek couldn't move. He was stunned still by his mate's words so Lance stepped around him and walked into the café without a backwards glance. Keithek didn't try to stop him.

He just stood where Lance had left him while his mind struggled to figure out what to do with this revelation. He was still mulling over it when he left with Shiro and Allura in the pod. He didn't realize until they were halfway back to the Castle that he never said goodbye to Lance.


	67. PART 3 - 67: Agate

**A/N:** With this chapter, I am done with NaNoWriMo, but nowhere near done with this story. Fear not readers, there is so much more to go. The darkness as only just begun to creep back into our beloved characters' lives. I couldn't possibly stop without letting it drown them all. I still have so much plot to dish out, Langst to enjoy, and torture to inflict. It has only just begun to get fun. ) **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Lance may or may not have propositioned Nyma, Allura smacks Keith over the head, and Keith learns something about the princess that both answers and creates more questions. **  
**

* * *

 **67: Agate - accepts circumstances, powerful emotional healer, discerns the truth**

Rolo was busy stocking the shelves of their open-air shop. The particle barrier had done its job; nothing was missing. He marked the exact number of Polluxian sailfin bone fans before moving to their collection of spare parts. These he catalogued quickly before saving the results and returning his tablet to the yurt when it would be safe for the time being.

When he came back out, Nyma was already in the middle of working a potential customer towards a trade so he stood by the yurt and waited for the next customer. No trader would steal another trader's customer. There were some things that just demanded a little respect for a fellow trader. It was part of the unofficial codes every legitimate trader adhered to.

So when Nyma whistled to catch his attention, he was more than a little startled. He pulled a twig out of his pocket and stuck it in his mouth as he stepped up onto the wooden platform that served as their shop.

"What d'you need?" he asked smiling.

Nyma looked very put out. She practically hissed in annoyance when she spoke. "I need you to take over from here."

Rolo caught the twig before it tumbled out of his open mouth. "Um, sure," he said, recovering quickly. "You okay?"

Nyma rolled her eyes and stomped away. "I have a call," she snapped, before slamming the yurt door shut behind her.

"A ca-" Oh. Lance must be trying to contact her. That must be annoying as quiznack. Oh well, he though, turning to give the customer a brilliant grin. More for him. "What can I do for you?" he asked.

* * *

"This had better be good," Nyma said, glaring at the spectral form of the Altean prince in front of her. "I had to cut a trade short because of this."

The prince had the decency to drop his gaze and hang his head awkwardly. _:I apologize for that,:_ he said in a very formal voice. _:If I had known you were busy, I would have waited.:_

Nyma sighed and waved the apology aside. "Don't worry about it," she said. "There will be plenty more where they came from. I'm just frustrated, is all."

 _:Again, I'm sorry,:_ Lance said _. :Do you want me to contact you later?:_

"No," Nyma said, pulling up a stool to sit on. "I'm here, so we might as well get this over with."

The prince nodded _. :I've spoken to my sister and I'll be meeting you at Meserie with Keith,:_ he said _. :Do you need us to bring anything when we come?:_

Nyma shook her head. "No. Just yourself and Keith," she said. "However, I wouldn't take one of your Lions if you can avoid it. No offense, but they aren't exactly subtle."

 _:Would a pod be acceptable?:_ he asked.

"Yes. There are landing pads at the top of the canyon," she said. "Rolo or I will meet you there and take you down to the mid-levels until our contact is ready for you."

 _:Understood.:_

"Alright, now what the quiznack is wrong with you?" Nyma demanded, crossing her legs.

Lance blinked in confusion before looking away. _:I…:_ He shrugged. _:I told Keith I'm sterile and I don't think he…:_ He pressed his lips in a thin line and sighed. _:He didn't take it as well as I'd hoped.:_

"He didn't know before?" Nyma asked.

 _:Did you?:_ Lance asked pointedly.

Nyma lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. "Point."

 _:It wasn't necessarily common knowledge even when Alteans were common in the universe,:_ Lance explained _. :We didn't keep it a secret but it wasn't necessarily something we advertised either. Sex was something that served several purposes: pleasure, bonding, and as a tool. If we thought our services would be useful in that area, then we would use it.:_

"And that plus your inexplicable fertility celebrations must have given the impression your people were promiscuous," Nyma said wryly. "I wonder why that is?"

Lance rolled his eyes. _:Different cultures, different traditions… Honestly, one species' taboo won't necessarily be a taboo for another species. The universe is vast.:_

"I can attest to that," Nyma said with a chuckle. "I've been meaning to find a partner for a while. I have to test out that Kadesh, after all," she said winking.

 _:I'm sure you'll find plenty of people who would willing to bed you,:_ Lance said with a grin. _:You're lovely, smart, and clever. What's not to like?:_

"Are you offering?" the Teiidae asked, trailing a finger over her cheek flirtatiously.

 _:And if I was?:_

"I might just accept."

The prince smiled brightly, laughing softly. _:I'll keep that in mind,:_ he said.

"Besides," Nyma said, "it's not as if either of us could actually penetrate the other. At least, I know you can't. I could play with you though." She smiled and strode up to the prince, a sultry smile teasing her lips as she swung her hips in a tantalizing manner. "I could make you scream with or without the juniberry."

 _:Don't think I can't do the same,:_ Lance said, running his eyes up and down Nyma's body appreciatively. _:I am Altean, after all. We're good at what we do.:_

"I bet you are." Nyma poked the prince's ghostly chest, ignoring the way her finger actually moved through the projection instead of meeting a solid surface. "It's a pity something as insignificant as fertility issues would stop a mate from caring. I was beginning to like Keith, too." She pursed her lips in a dramatic sulk. "Well, if he ever drops you or lets you go your own way, know that I'm always available."

Lance's smile faded somewhat. _:I'll keep that in mind.:_

"Well then," Nyma said, stepping back and fiddling with the fluorite shard in her hand, "if that's all you wanted, then I'll inform Rolo and we'll let our contact know to expect you. When do you think you can arrive?"

 _:Two cycles if things go smoothly,:_ Lance answered. _:If I have to, I'll come alone.:_

"Unless Keith tells Rolo in person that he's handing his side of the trade over to you, I'm afraid he'll have to be with you," Nyma said, rolling her shoulder. "Those're the rules."

 _:I understand,:_ Lance said reluctantly. He shook his head and shifted on his feet, leaning his weight comfortably on one leg. _:I need to get drunk after this mess.:_

Nyma lifted an eyebrow and smirked. "I can do you one better," she said. "Rolo's got a friend who runs a lounge on the higher levels. I'm sure he could hook you up with one of their strongest drinks. If you can take it, that is."

 _:Honestly, I'll take just about anything, right now,:_ the prince groaned. _:I might even settle for some Human alcohol if I can get my hands on some. They seem to have some very stiff drinking age laws here,:_ he grumbled.

Nyma snorted. "I'd like to see you drunk. I bet you're the life of the party."

 _:Actually,:_ Lance said, _:Allura is the more amusing of the two of us. Her ability to hold her tongue goes away completely and she'll say whatever is on her mind. **Whatever** is on her mind. I just flirt more.:_

"So you're you on steroids and the princess is a truth serum," the Teiidae said snickering. "That sounds like fun."

 _:It would be more fun if a lovely lady such as yourself were to join us,:_ Lance said, placing a hand dramatically over his heart and holding out the other in an open invitation.

"Careful, Lance, I might just take you up on that offer," Nyma said, slicking her lips.

 _:I sincerely hope you do,:_ the prince purred.

"But what would Keith think?"

Lance's smile faded somewhat. _:Does it matter?:_

"Not to me," Nyma said honestly. "Teiidae don't take life partners. We mate in season with someone we like, then part ways and that's usually it." Her unblinking, pupil-less eyes bored into Lance's. "But you and I both know the Galra do take life partners."

 _:Yes, well,:_ Lance said, dropping his arms and sticking his hands in his pockets. _:I'm sure most Galra also take the time to get to know their potential partner before mating them.:_

Nyma frowned. There was a lot more in that simple statement than she knew what to do with at the moment, so she wisely left it alone. For now.

"I see," she said carefully. "Well while you enjoy whatever planet you're currently on, I have a shop to run and trades to complete. So we'll speak later."

 _:Later then.:_

The prince gave her a friendly salute before vanishing like mist leaving Nyma alone in the yurt. Only then did she narrow her gaze and think about what she'd heard. Whether he meant to or not, though she suspected he had, Lance had all but propositioned her. He'd seen the Mark on the prince's neck the night he'd asked them to spy for him. He hadn't bothered to hide it as if he was proud of it.

Now, he seemed indifferent to it. That could mean one of a couple things. First, it could mean he honestly didn't care about the Mark or what it represents, just that it was a way to bind the Galra halfbreed to him. She doubted that, but it was still a possibility, however remote. Second, Keith's reaction to the Altean's sterility had been more serious than Lance had let on. This was the most plausible possibility. However, this still left some things unexplained.

How did Keith react exactly? Had he outright rejected Lance? Some Galra were known to do that if they discovered their mate was found to be sterile. It was rare, but was sometimes done in the Empire. Nyma had only heard of such a thing happening twice: once with a sterile omega and once with a sterile beta. Both times, it had been an alpha of relatively high standing who had ended the relationship. She'd never heard of what happened to the rejected mates, but she could guess.

Since Lance wasn't a Galra, she doubted the results of a rejected relationship would affect him like it would if he was a Galra. Nevertheless, she had no doubt it would affect him in some way. The way he'd flirted with her during their talk told her much about his state of mind. He hadn't been lying when he said he hoped she would join him. He hadn't even bothered to veil the proposition with flirting. That in and of itself intrigued her.

Perhaps she would take him up on that offer. If anything, she wanted to see how Keith would react.

* * *

Allura leaned against the side of the pod as Keith carefully touched down in the Castle pod hanger. She watched the red paladin's movements carefully, trying to decipher what was different about him. Keith was usually fairly quiet, only speaking up when he had something important to say. But the flight here had been uncomfortably silent. Even Shiro's attempts to coax a conversation out of the halfbreed had been met with silence.

She may not stick her nose into other people's business, but Allura had a sneaking suspicion that whatever was bothering Keith had something to do with her brother. When Lance refused to walk her and Shiro back to the pod, choosing instead to remain behind in the café with Hunk, Pidge, and Pidge's mother, Allura knew something was wrong. Lance's smile had been strained and he'd seemed tired.

If she didn't know better, Allura would have suspected the stronger gravity and thicker air of Earth had begun to get to him. It had certainly made it slightly more difficult for her, but she'd had more practice adapting to the uniqueness of other planets. Lance had spent most of his time in the Druidic Collegium on Altea, so didn't have as much practice with the subtleties of shapeshifting that she had. The prince was good with topical shapeshifting and some minor inner changes, but the larger scale shifts were Allura's mastery.

However, the princess did know better and seeing Keith now, she knew for certain that something had happened between the two paladins. She narrowed her eyes as the pod settled on the floor and the door opened. If Keith thought he was getting out of this, he had another thing coming.

She stepped out of the pod first, followed by Shiro, then Keith. She delicately plucked the red paladin's collar and held him in place, startling a grunt out of him. "Shiro," she said, not taking her eyes off of the red paladin in her grip, "go ahead and meet Coran. We'll be right behind you."

"Is everything all right?" Shiro asked in genuine concern.

"I'm about to find out," she said.

Shiro hesitated a tick before nodding and stepping out of the hanger into the hallways. When they were finally alone, Allura released her hold on Keith who instantly flinched away and glared at her. She met his glare with one of her own.

"What happened between you and my brother?" she demanded without preamble.

Whatever Keith had been expecting, it certainly hadn't been that. The red paladin's violet and gold eyes widened and he looked away with a frown, his ears drooping.

"Nothing," he mumbled.

"The frell it is," Allura snapped. "Something happened and I want to know what it was. Did you have a fight or something?"

Keith's mauve skin paled slightly and his face grew grim. "Of a sort," he admitted. "It really isn't your business."

"When it affects my paladins' mental and emotional states, it does," Allura countered sharply. "And since one of those paladins happens to be my brother of all people, then I have that much more reason to be involved. Now tell me what happened between you and Lance."

The halfbreed didn't answer right away and the longer he hesitated, the angrier Allura got.

"Is it…" Keith said after a teck. "Does Lance…" he tried again, grimacing when the words refused to come out. "Is it true?" he said finally.

"Is what true?" Allura asked.

"Is Lance really sterile?" Keith asked seriously, turning his gaze to the princess's.

Allura flinched in horror, her mouth falling open in shock. He had… Lance had… "He told you?" she whispered.

Keith's entire form drooped. "So it is true?" he asked softly. "He wasn't lying?"

The princess crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Keith sternly. "If he told you, then you should know it's the truth," she said. "Lance doesn't lie unless he has no other choice."

Keith looked away and Allura's frown deepened.

"What did you do when he told you?" she asked in a voice that was the silk draped over a sharpened blade.

"I…" He shook his head in shame. "I didn't do anything," he admitted. "I just…stood there. I couldn't even face him. I didn't even tell him goodbye when we left." He ran a hand through his hair, pinning one of his ears to his head. "I didn't mean to avoid him, I honestly didn't. I was just so confused and…"

"And?" Allura pressed.

"I hurt him," Keith said softly. "I hurt him and I never even noticed."

Allura felt her fury rise. "What do you me-"

"I made love to him twice and I never knew it was hurting him," Keith cried, lifting his head to stare at the princess in horrible understanding. "He never told me. He shouldn't have _had_ to. I should have been able to tell I was hurting him but I couldn't. I ended up hurting him and I didn't know and I… Wha-" He closed his eyes, fighting back tears of self-hatred and guilt. "How could I have not known? All this time… All this time I was the only one getting off and he never said a word. He just let me use him like some common whore and I never even _noticed!_ How could I have been so fraking _blind!_ Why didn't I ever check to see if he was alright or if he was enjoying himself or if he was even aroused in the first place? I never would have taken him to bed if I'd know it would hurt him. He's my _mate!_ Why won't he _tell me_ when I disrespect him or use him like one of Lotor's toys?!"

"Wait, wait Keith, stop. Keith, _stop!"_ Allura commanded, gabbing the red paladin's arms and shaking him harshly knocking the halfbreed out of his self-deprecating funk. "Calm down. What do you mean you hurt my brother? Tell me now."

"I had sex with him!" Keith practically shouted causing the princess to flinch from the volume. "I held him down and had sex with him! He never told me he couldn't enjoy it. I thought he _was_ enjoying it."

"You held him down?" Allura demanded.

Keith nodded. "He wanted me to," he said frantically. "I would have stopped if he'd told me to but he didn't, I swear! He wanted me to-" Keith's mauve skin suddenly darkened to darker shade of purple that was almost red.

"He wanted you to what?" Allura said.

Keith gulped. "To make him scream," he said. "He said he wanted me to… do him until he screamed."

Allura released her hold and stepped back. She didn't like this, but she knew her brother. He spoke up when he liked something and wasn't made it clear when he didn't like something. If Lance hadn't wanted the sex, he would have said so. More importantly, he would have told her which he didn't. In fact, he'd told rather plainly that he'd enjoyed it and wanted it to continue. Granted, Allura hadn't known, or wanted to know really, what sorts of kinks her brother had. That was just awkward, but if it helped solve this fiasco, then sometimes she had to suffer.

"You did nothing wrong," she said.

"I-what?" Keith gasped, stunned by the princess's words. "What do you mean I did nothing wrong? I hurt Lance! How is that nothing?"

"You may have hurt him," Allura said. "But if he'd wanted you to stop, he would have told you. I think you know that or you wouldn't have continued to do what Lance obviously asked."

"But he can't-"

"What?" Allura challenged, her eyes hard. "He can't come so you should stop having sex with him?"

"If it hurts him-"

"Do you _know_ it hurts him?" she demanded. "Have you asked him? Or did you just jump to that conclusion all on your own?"

"He's sterile," Keith said as if that explained everything. "He can't repro-"

"He wouldn't be able to reproduce with you anyway," Allura said. "You're both male and neither of you have the reproductive apparatus required to carry a child anyway. So that shouldn't be a problem."

"But sterility can still affect a person-"

"I'm fully aware of what sterility can do, Keith," Allura said coldly. "I'm also aware that if Lance was in pain, he would have told you. If he didn't want you, he would have left you. If he didn't want you having sex with him, he wouldn't let you. Now stop," she smacked Keith over the head, "beating yourself over something neither of you can control and accept him as he is. He told you about his sterility, the least you can do is respect that and remain loyal to him."

"Of _course_ I'm going to stay loyal to him," Keith said. "He's my mate. Nothing will ever change that."

"Then tell him that, not me," Allura said. "Grab something to eat and drink then go back to Earth and tell Lance what you just told me." Her gaze softened. "He needs to hear it."

Without waiting for a response, the princess turned on her heel and walked towards the hanger door. The door had only just slid open revealing the hallway when Keith spoke.

"You said you knew what sterility can do to a person," the red paladin said.

His voice was loud enough to carry, but soft enough to give a semblance of confidence. Allura stopped in the doorway and waited for Keith to continue, even though she had a good idea of what he would say.

"You're sterile too, aren't you?" he asked.

It took all of Allura's self-control not to scream or snap or cry. She didn't need to answer out loud. Keith already knew. She still bit her lip when she left the doorway and made her way to the lift. She may or may not have stopped the lift for a teck or two to cry alone. There was no proof either way because no one saw or heard anything.

Well, no one _alive_ , that is.


	68. PART 3 - 68: Howlite

**A/N:** I didn't update last night because I stayed up late working on my group presentation which we gave this morning. I probably won't be able to update tomorrow night either because I have to go to a sleep study and they have a strict Bedtime at 10pm Sharp rule. They cut off the internet and make us go to sleep then. So, yeah. Sorry ahead of time. That said, hoe y'all enjoy this chapter. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Manset is suspicious, Rolo admits a mistake, and Allura takes Coran's advise. **  
**

* * *

 **68: Howlite - combines reasoning, observation, and patience; provides discernment**

To say Manset was uncomfortable was an understatement. It seemed the Galran prince had decided to spend his leisure time in Den Resistance which was proving to be both a benefit for his business and a detriment to his ability to receive and pass on information to the rebellion. At least Lotor was relatively polite. Prince Lotor respected the rules of the establishment, never raised his voice unless he wanted to be heard, and never said a word in disrespect or raised his hand to attack one of Manset's employees or guests. Not yet anyway.

Lotor mostly kept to himself. But Manset noticed how very little occurred in Den Resistance without Lotor becoming aware of it soon after. At the moment, the Galran prince was seated on the rooftop patio of Manset's lounge sipping a traditional Galra alcohol slowly and observing the cityscape of Maserie with mild interest. One of his toys, a female with reddish hair and green, almost leaf-like skin, was draped across Lotor's lap napping lazily.

It was deceptively calm which rubbed Manset the wrong way. He could just tell something about this wasn't quite right. If he could just put his finger on it….

"Mans."

Startled, Manset turned to find Rolo standing there. "Rolo," he said in greeting. He glanced back at Lotor before sighing and focusing on his friend. "Let's move somewhere a bit more private," he said.

Rolo glanced out the window to the VIP patio, pressed his lips together in a grim line, and nodded. "Lead the way," he said, stepping aside.

The crustacean moved through the lounge with ease. There wasn't too big of a crowd yet. It was too early in the day for the night life crowd to move in. However, seeing as VIP sections of Den Resistance was accessible by one of the nicer hotel towers of Meserie. Tourists, traders, and potential customers from all over the 'verse often came to Meserie for the larger Markets. It was a destination drawing the businesses interested in the opportunity to make a profit, vacationers searching for the exotic and new, and customers searching for a deal.

Needless to say, there was no shortage of foot traffic through this tower and Den Resistance was a hot spot for many staying in the hotels as well as a few locals and traders. It would probably look odd for a simple trader like Rolo to be on the VIP deck with elite guests like Prince Lotor, but it wouldn't seem unusual for him to sit at the bar and catch a drink with an old friend.

Manset guided Rolo over to the bar surrounding the exotic oasis and took a seat at one of the bar seats. "Two Midnight Suns," he said to the bartender who approached them. He waited until his employee was busy mixing their drinks and Rolo was settled before speaking. "I trust you have the proof you promised?" he asked.

Rolo plucked the twig from his mouth and sighed. "Not yet, no," he said. "But it's coming. My customer will be coming with his mate which should be proof enough."

"Oh?" Manset asked incredulously. "And how is that?"

"My customer's mate in a pure blooded Altean."

Ah. "I assume this mate is your new boss," Manset said.

Rolo shot him a dark look. "He's not my boss," he said firmly. "He's an ally, something we're pathetically short on at the moment."

Manset shrugged noncommittally which succeeded in rubbing the trader the wrong way. Rolo sulked and didn't speak again until his drink arrived and he downed half of it.

"I told you the plant is required for Altean reproduction, right?" he said. "I didn't say why. It's because Alteans are sterile."

Manset coughed on his drink, recovering inelegantly. Rolo, curse him to Drule and back, continued to sip his drink calm as you please. "That's ridiculous," Manset said, setting his glass down on the bar. "You and I both know the princess is perfectly capable of reproducing and she has the most Altean blood of anyone I know of."

"That may be," Rolo agreed, "but she's also a mixed breed. The Altean blood in her is so muddled that she doesn't refer to herself as Altean at all."

"But she still has Altean blood and she gave birth easily enough," Manset argued.

"Did she though?" Rolo said carefully, eyeing the lounge owner grimly. "Did she really?"

Manset sighed. "That was an unfortunate event but-"

"Unfortunate event?" Rolo gasped in offense. "She was so distraught she dropped her guard and got captured. I'd hardly call that an 'unfortunate event,'" the trader hissed viciously.

"I didn't mean it like that and you know it," Manset said in a warning tone. "You know I did the best I could to aid her through that time. In fact, it was by my help that she escaped you-know-who's grasp," he whispered hotly, nodding to the VIP deck where Lotor still sat. "She has always had my loyalty. Nothing will change that."

"Romelle is a strong woman," Rolo said, draining his cup and setting it down on the counter indicating to the bartender that he wanted a refill. "I'm sure she would've found her way out of that fix on her own given enough time."

"Maybe," Manset agreed. "But you and I both know the rebellion is practically built around her and that cousin of hers. When she was captured the morale dropped dangerously."

He studied Rolo's expression as he spoke. The trader's brown eyes narrowed and a frown stretched across his face. He picked up his empty cup and rolled it in his hand as he thought. "I'm aware," he whispered. He took a deep breath and let it all out in a gusty sigh. "I told you about the Voltron team, but I didn't tell you how we met." He set the cup down and stared at it morosely. "Nyma and I captured two of their team," he said reluctantly, his head drooping low over the bar in shame. "We were going to turn them in to the Galra Empire for the reward."

Manset sat up straight, staring at his friend in stunned disbelief unable to put his shock into words. Rolo couldn't bring himself to meet his friend's eyes. He just took the newly mixed Midnight Sun drink the bartender placed in front of him and practically drained it dry, making a face as it burned the back of his throat.

"They stopped us," he said slowly. "The pilot of the Red Lion is an ace. We flew into an asteroid field to avoid him but he chased us through the field like it was child's play." He chuckled, impressed despite his mood. "His mate pilots the Blue Lion and Nyma will tell you his aim is impeccable. He took out both of our guns and disabled our ship in one shot while we were flying through space after that Yellow Lion slammed into us. They could have _killed_ us, Mans."

He finally looked up at the crustacous lounge owner with a pleading gaze. "They could have _killed_ us but they _didn't_. They let us go, no strings attached," he said, a note of disbelief in his voice. "They even found an abandoned Galra transport that was damaged but recoverable for us to transfer all of our goods into and let us free."

He finished the last of his drink and smiled. "Not right away, of course," he said. "They fought the Galra and freed Balmera 95-Vox first. Their Voltron took on a Galra Robeast head-to-head while their princess healed the Balmera. The _whole_ Balmera. Mans," he said, setting his cup down with wide eyes, "the Balmera saved them. It acted in their defense and defeated the Robeast _for_ them. I have never heard of any Balmera doing something like that, ever."

Manset absorbed this new information thoughtfully. He hummed and sat back in his bar seat. "Rolo, I've known you for a long time," he said. "I've seen you at your lowest and at your best."

"Sure, mention my worst first," Rolo muttered. "Jerk."

Manset chuckled, but it quickly faded. "But I didn't know Princess Romelle's capture had affected you so badly," he finished sadly. "I knew you were upset, but I didn't realize _how_ upset you were." He placed one of his four heavy hands on the trader's shoulder. "I'm sorry I didn't help you like I should have," he said.

Rolo shrugged. "We were all in a bad place," he said.

"Well I think you should know," the lounge owner said, a smile slowly becoming visible on his face, "Romelle is back."

Rolo stiffened.

"A small group headed by Brandor spearheaded her rescue," Manset said gleefully. "She's back with the rebellion and ready to plan our next offensive."

Rolo sat bolt upright, nearly losing his balance and falling out of his chair. "What the frell, Mans!" he cried, immediately ducking when he received several glares for his volume. "What the frell, Mans," he repeated in a softer but no less emphatic voice. "Why didn't you tell me sooner you bastard?"

Manset laughed. "Because you distracted me with you, ah, less than savory request before I could," he said. The trader sulked earning him another chuckled.

"How long as she been back?" Rolo demanded.

"Less than a turn," Manset replied. "I don't know all the details myself, just that she's back and ready to fight. Apparently, she has information about Lotor that could be useful."

Roolo gawked. "Lotor?" he repeated. "As in Prince Magog-face Lotor sitting out on your patio right now? _That_ Lotor?"

The lounge owner nodded proudly. "She's not the princess for nothing, after all," Manset said.

Rolo threw his head back and laughed loudly, ignoring the glares attempting to burn holes in the back of his head. "Well," he said, "I guess we'll fall back into the swing of things. Just like old times?" he said, holding out a hand resting his elbow on the bar.

Manset clasped the offered hand firmly. "Just like old times, my old friend," he said. "Although," he added seriously, "we still need to discuss how we're going to get your…merchandise, shall we say." He lowered his hand and clasped all four of his hands over his chest. "I can get my hands on some of what you want, but," he said, holding up one hand t stall Rolo's premature relief, "not much. I can't be seen as potentially dealing that despicable drug. My establishment has and will remain a drug free environment. I have a reputation to uphold, after all."

Rolo nodded. "Alright, then how do you want to do this?" he asked. "You're place, your rules."

Manset barked a laugh. "You are a true hypocrite." Rolo just shrugged unrepentantly. Manset shook his head. "It's easier to get in liquid form," he said, considering the logistics of this. "But I may or may not have heard that a certain person with access will be visiting Meserie within a cycle. If he has a weakness for alcohol, then that's none of my business," he said, taking a sip of his drink.

Rolo snickered. "Well that's good to know, but…" He glanced around the lounge and the bartender to be sure no one heard him before finishing his thought. "I heard Lotor is known for using it on his toys, if you know what I mean."

Manset's gaze darkened. "Don't go there," he warned. "I already don't like that he's here in the first place. I still have no explanation as to why he's here. I have my suspicions, but if I'm right then anything you do will be playing into his hands."

The trader's eyes narrowed. "You think he's hunting us."

"Perhaps not us, specifically," Manset corrected, "but the rebellions or sympathizers, yes."

"But…" Rolo groaned. "Alright, we'll be careful."

"No, Rolo," Manset said sternly. "You won't be 'careful,' you'll be sane and leave Lotor to his own devices."

Rolo nodded reluctantly. "I'll try to stay out of his way," he promised. "But I won't speak for Nyma. She's considering offering to play," he said quickly before Manset could say anything. "Lotor's known to have a weakness for that."

"Don't let her," Manset said severely. "Rolo, I'm telling you this as both a friend and a fellow, do not yet her get anywhere near Lotor."

The trader's brown eyes studied Manset closely before nodding. "Alright," he said slowly. "I'll keep her away."

Manset nodded. "Thank you."

* * *

"This are the results of the diagnostic scan," Coran said, handing what looked like a thin sheet of crystal to Shiro. Rover hovered by the advisor's shoulder watching the exchange silent but attentive. "Give this and one of the spare tablets in the pod to Lace so he can look it over."

"I'm staying in the Castle actually," the black paladin, taking the offered crystal anyway. "I'll give this to Keith. He's heading back to Earth."

"Oh?" the advisor asked. "And Allura?"

"She was talking to Keith in the pod hanger when I left her," Shiro said in a worried voice. "Should I go back to check on her?"

"Don't bother," the princess's voice said from behind the paladin, startling him.

"Allura?" Coran called, a frown forming on his face when he took in the princess's appearance. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Coran," Allura answered briskly. "Shiro, why don't you go give Keith the results."

"How did you-" he asked, a flush beginning to form on his cheeks.

"I could hear you two from the hall," she said simply. "Now go give that to Keith; he should be in the mess hall. When you get back, Coran can take you to Sendak's memory core."

Shiro hesitated a tick before nodding. "Yes ma'am," he said and made his own out of the bridge into the hallway beyond.

"Rover," Allura said to the small hoverbot, "why don't you go with Shiro I'm sure he'd enjoy the company."

Rover beeped and jumped in the air before darting off after the black paladin. Coran glanced at the green paladin's hoverbot briefly before his attention returned to the princess. "You've been crying," he said when they were alone.

The princess's shoulders drooped and she rolled her lips together nervously. He lovely turquoise eye lifted to meet Coran's and the advisor sighed when he saw the beginnings of more tears in them.

"Oh, my dear," he said gently, holding out his arms to pull the princess into a hug. "What have you gotten yourself into this time?"

Allura shook in Coran's hold but did not cry aloud which worried the advisor. It was so unnatural for an Altean to hold back what they were feeling, to hide their emotions. It was a useful tool for those trained as diplomats, true enough, but it just felt dishonest, he supposed.

"Please tell me," he asked sincerely. "Let me listen. I may not be able to help you, but I can at least listen to you."

He felt the princess swallow and take a deep breath in through her nose before she spoke. "Lance told Keith he's sterile," she said softly. "And Keith figured out I was as well."

Ah. Coran suddenly felt his years weigh down his shoulders. The information was bound to surface eventually. He had just hoped it would be in their own time. Although, he thought, there really was no such thing as 'their time' anymore, was there? He, Lance, and Allura were the last Alteans in existence.

Well, the last pure blooded Alteans anyway. Coran wasn't about to completely dismiss the idea that there were some Altean blood still out there in the universe somewhere. Altean mixed breeds tended to require the juniberry plant for reproduction less and less their genetics mixed with other species. However, their tolerance for the plants toxins also dropped leaving them vulnerable. It was a trade that had some good points as well as some bad points but was inevitable either way.

"I'm sorry," he said rubbing his hand through Allura's snowy white hair. "I'm so so sorry." He sighed and held the princess for a few ticks before a thought occurred to him. "Why don't you go visit your father in the holodeck?" he suggested, pushing the princess just far enough away so he could see her face. He tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and smiled. "I'm sure Alfor can help you much better than I can."

Allura smiled. "You sell yourself short," she said.

"Perhaps," Coran said with a shrug. "But I know my limits, most of the time anyway. Besides, if anyone can help you through this, it's Alfor. He was your father and if he could deal with you as a child while raising Aldrun and Lauma to adulthood, then I'm sure he can do the same for you."

The princess laughed despite herself. "I bet."

She sniffed and regained her composure. It was disturbing for Coran to watch Allura emotions vanish from her face, replaced by a smile. It was so unnatural, so foreign.

"You'll call me if you need anything?" Allura asked hesitantly.

"Of course I will princess," Coran said in a reassuring voice. "Don't worry. Go be with your father. I'll take Shiro down to Sendak's memory core and explain what's been going on with the ship."

"Yes, about that," Allura said.

Coran fought another wince as more emotion was dismissed from the princess's face.

"Does father know about these malfunctions?" she asked.

Oh. "No," Coran said in mild surprise. "No, I don't suppose he does. I honestly forgot to inform him, although I'm sure he's aware of some sort of problem."

Allura nodded. "Then I'll tell him that as well," she said.

"Talk about that _later,"_ Coran said. "We'll have plenty of time to deal with these malfunctions after you've spoken to Alfor."

"Actually, we'll need to leave this system in a cycle or so," the princess said. "My brother and Keith need to meet a Rolo and Nyma on Meserie to complete a trade they made."

"I'll go ahead and start plotting a course so we can leave as soon as the paladins arrive," Coran said.

"Thank you," Allura said. "If Shiro is able to get anything useful from Sendak's memories, we may split up to investigate that while Lance and Keith are on Meserie. I don't plan on engaging the enemy without all of my paladins together, however," she clasped her hands formally in front of her, "if we can do any reconnaissance without being caught, I want to do it. We need as much information as we can get to help up fight this war."

"Agreed," Coran said nodding. "Might I suggest we look into making contact with the current rebellion?"

The princess nodded. "I have considered that option," she said. "If we can ally ourselves with the rebellion while without answering directly to them and retaining our independent status, then I believe that would be a wise decision. However," she added, "if they require we sacrifice our ability to react on our own, then we'll forgo the alliance." Her gaze darkened. "I will not let Voltron or the Castle of Lions fall under the command of anyone but our team. That's final."

"As your command princess," Coran said proudly.

Without another word, Allura left the bridge to meet her father on the holodeck. Coran took the opportunity to close out of what he'd been working on before Allura, Shiro, and Keith arrived and also left. Allura mentioned Keith would be in the mess hall and the advisor would bet ten bucks -he still wasn't entirely sure what those were yet- that Shiro would be there too. Coran wanted a quick word with those young men.


	69. PART 3 - 69: Amber

**A/N:** I managed to write this between 4-10pm. I'm now all electroded up for my sleep study. They put me to bed at 9:50 sharp so I gotta make this quick. I can't edit this as seriously as I'd prefer so I'll do that tomorrow. Night y'all~ **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Shiro learns something shocking, Lance ponders, and Allura flirts with Hunk. ...wait, what? **  
**

* * *

 **69: Amber - calming for stressed nerves, finds humor and joy  
**

Keith was finishing his cup of warmed nunvill when Shiro came into the mess, the Galran hoverbot floating just behind the black paladin's shoulder. They made eye contact and Shiro lifted his chin in acknowledgement, walking over to the red paladin. When he was close enough, Shiro held out a thin, rectangular storage crystal.

"Coran wanted me to give you this," he said.

"What is it?" Keith asked, setting his almost empty cup on the island and taking the storage crystal from the black paladin.

"It's the results from the Castle-wide systems scan Lance asked for," Shiro replied.

Keith narrowed his eyes in surprise. "Lance asked for this?" he said. "When?"

Shiro hesitated, tilting his head slightly in confusion. "Right before we left Earth," he said. "He didn't tell you?"

Keith shook his head and studied the milky-white crystal in his hand. "Why does he need it?" he asked. "Is something wrong with the Castle?"

Shiro's expression darkened and he glanced around them in suspicion. "It may be nothing," he said, "but Coran reported several malfunctions in the Castle after we left. Actually," he flushed and rubbed his neck awkwardly, "Hunk, Pidge, and I witnessed one of the malfunctions."

"What happened?" Keith demanded. "Why wasn't I told?"

"We didn't know it was part of an ongoing issue," Shiro said with a shrug. "The Castle is over 10,000 years old. It's bound to have a few problems. We figured the food goo hose was experiencing a glitch or something."

"The food goo…" Keith shut his mouth and turned to stare down the food distribution hose hanging innocently from the kitchen wall on the other side of the mess hall doubtfully. "It- What did it do?" he asked hesitantly, not sure if he really wanted to know.

Rover beeped and flashed, obviously trying to recount the events. Unfortunately, no one but Pidge seemed capable of making heads or tails of what the hoverbot was ever trying to say. But they pretended to listen anyway because it seemed to placate the bot's pride. Who knew a robot could have a sense of pride?

"Rover's got it," Shiro said indulgently, patting the hoverbot encouragingly. "The nozzle began spitting food goo everywhere and we couldn't stop it. Hunk tied the hose in a knot which stopped it from spraying food everywhere but almost made it explode." He smiled bashfully. "We decided to leave the mess for someone who's more familiar with the Castle's equipment and booked it out of there as fast as we could."

Keith nodded slowly, a look of mild disbelief on his face. "Right," he said. "You lost a battle to food goo. Good to know."

"Hey," Shiro said in mock offense, "flying food it terrifying. Just ask Hunk."

Keith was in the midst of taking a sip of his nunvill when Shiro's comment made him snort, tossing him into a coughing fit. Shiro attempted to help Keith recover resulting in both of them laughing. That was how Coran found them when he arrived.

"Ah, in good spirits I see?" the advisor said, a smile on his face. "Wonderful. I would much rather start this talk on a good footing."

"Coran?" Keith gasped, rubbing his mouth to be sure it was dry before coughing lightly once. "What is it?"

"Well," the advisory began, "I believe I should tell you Keith that Allura told me that Lance mad you aware of his situation."

Keith's good mood vanished instantly, surprising Shiro who was confused.

"What situation?" the black paladin asked. "Is he alright?"

"Yes. Well, no, but yes," Coran said. He sighed. "Yes, he is in perfect health as far as I'm aware. He and Allura both are still slightly tired from saving the Balmera but they're recovering much faster than I thought they would which is good news. But, no, I doubt he is alright in the sense I think you mean."

Keith ducked his head. "I didn't… I didn't mean to hurt him," he said. "It just…"

"It shocked you," Coran said sympathetically. "I understand, I do. But you have to understand that's normal for all Alteans."

Keith stiffened, standing ramrod straight and staring at the Altean advisor dumbstruck. "Y-You too?" he gasped.

"Yes," Coran said, nodding. "I know it may be hard to accept at first, but

"Wha-" Shiro stopped himself, not exactly sure what to ask. He had no idea what was being talked about but whatever it was, it was apparently important enough for Coran to get involved. He decided to stay silent and listen. Perhaps he could figure out what they were talking about.

"But I don't understand," Keith said, shaking his head as his ears drooped. "If you're all like that, then how did…" He struggled to find his words, a bright red flush building in his cheeks. "How did you…you know, get born?"

"What?" Shiro said giving Keith a very confused look. "Born? What are you talking about?"

"The Alteans ar-"

"We're sterile, Shiro," Coran said simply. "Although I would appreciate it if you didn't advertise that."

Shiro felt the floor drop out from under him. Sterile. But…

"It wasn't something we hid 10,000 years ago," Coran explained as nonchalantly as if he were discussing the weather. "It was simply a part of our biology, still is."

Shiro had no words.

"But how did you get born?" Keith asked. "I mean you weren't hatched from eggs, were yiu?"

Coran scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous," he said. "Our biology is similar to yours and your Shiro with a few exceptions as is to be expected. The most significant exception is our inability to naturally feel arousal or have a reproductive cycle without aid. Tell me, are you familiar with symbiosis?"

"Ah, yes," Shiro said, blinking and listening intently. "It's the concept of two or more life forms relying on each other for something in exchange for something else, essentially."

Coran nodded. "We have a symbiotic relationship with a plant that was native to Altea," he said. "It relied on the quintessence signature unique to our race for food and our cultivation which eased its ability to reproduce. In return it produced a chemical which, which while toxic to every other race as far as we know, is required for us to reproduce."

Keith's expression slowly morphed into one of cautious hope. "This plant," he said, "was it the juniberry?"

Coran blinked then smiled. "Yes, it was," he said easily. "It was the most beautiful flower in all of Altea. It was a lovely flower with deep fuchsia petals and bright yellow berries which grew round and juicy when the flower withered in its time. We would make a delicious juice from the berries, tea from the leaves and petals, and the roots were a sweet treat saved for the Juniberry Festivals."

He sighed dreamily. "Our entire culture was tied to that flower in one way or another," he continued. "Some of our elders suggested our symbiosis stemmed from the fact that our two species evolved so closely that we became inseparable."

"But what if something happened to the flower?" Shiro asked, fascinated by the advisor's words.

"We would be incapable of reproducing and simply vanish," Coran answered seriously. "Naturally, the reverse is also true. The juniberry plant only grew freely where Alteans gathered. If our race was suddenly wiped out by some catastrophe, then the plant would essentially starve to death."

Shiro was silent as he mulled over this new information. "So Allura…" he whispered.

"Is sterile, yes," Coran said sadly. "I'm so sorry, Shiro."

"Why didn't she tell us?" he asked weakly.

"Because it's none of your business, quite frankly," Coran said with a shrug. "Lance told Keith as a sign of trust, no doubt. Your reaction to this revelation was not the wisest, young man," he said, eyeing Keith astutely. The red paladin shrank under the gaze. "But," Coran continued more gently this time, "I understand why you reacted the way you did. I understand your culture to an extent as does Lance. Or, we understand it as it was when Altea was still in existence. But Allura is in the best position to understand the more intimate complexities of the Galran culture as she was a diplomat."

"I didn't mean-"

"Stop apologizing, young man," Coran said firmly. "Save that for Lance when you see him next. And pass along a message to him for me, would you? Tell him Coran is ordering him to sit his buttock down and talk to you. That goes for you too, Keith. You both need to talk until your throats are raw." He chuckled. "If Lance resists, tell him I know where the Mental Bond helmets are and I will use them if I have to. That should make him behave himself."

Keith nodded, eyes wide. "Yes sir. Um…"

"And Shiro," the advisor said, looking at the black paladin with a serious expression. "Please don't let on to Allura that I've told you about the sterility. It would break her heart. I probably shouldn't have told you, I admit. But I'm aware of your feelings for her and I want you to be aware."

Shiro nodded. Now he understood what Lance had been alluding to when they spoke before Shiro left for the Castle. "I won't tell," he swore. "But I also want you to know that this affects nothing. As far as I'm concerned, I'm not interested in sex. I'm interested in the mind and character of a person."

"The sex is a plus though," Keith said, immediately flushing and looking away guiltily. "Um…"

Coran laughed. "Yes, it most certainly is," he said happily. ""Now that we've had that conversation, Keith, I believe you should be returning to Earth now."

Keith nodded. "Right, but um-"

The Altean made a shooing noise and waved the halfbreed off. "Off with you boy," he said. "Your mate is wa-"

"Yes, but you need to know something!" Keith said loudly.

"I'm sure it can wait," Coran said briskly.

"No, it can't," Keith insisted, planting his feet on the floor. His violet and gold eyes narrowed and his ears faced forward when he bared his teeth, threatening the Altean to cross him. "You need to hear this now," he said firmly.

Coran faltered when faced with the hint of the halfbreed's inner alpha instincts. Even Shiro eyed the red paladin uneasily while Coran wisely stepped back, hands raised in surrender.

"Alright," the advisor said. "I'm listening."

Keith eased out of his defensive stance but his gaze lost none of its hardness. "You're wrong," he said. "The juniberry isn't extinct. It still exists."

Coran gasped an incredulous laugh before sighing sadly and shaking his head. "Even if Altean blood still exists in this day and age," he said, "it would be much too muddled for the juniberry to recognize the owner's quintessence as Altean."

"Yeah, well it _does_ still exist," Keith insisted. "Rolo knew it by name."

"What?!" Coran cried in shock.

"Keith, is this true?" Shiro asked.

"Yes," the red paladin said, a smile slowly growing on his face. "And Rolo's already in the process of getting it for me."

"But…" Coran looked caught between weeping and laughing. Hope sparkled in his eyes as he asked, "But how? Keith, how-"

"I heard Lance talking about it," Keith admitted shyly. "I thought he'd appreciate the gift. I made a trade with Rolo. He's going to get his hands on the juniberry plant for me. That's actually why Lance and I are going to Meserie."

"You're leaving?" Shiro asked. "Why didn't I know about this?"

"Because we aren't leaving for a cycle or so," Keith said. "As I was saying, Rolo knows someone who has a connection and plans on getting me the juniberry. But there's something you should know about the plant." He frowned. "It's considered a drug, a very dangerous drug. According to Rolo, it's used as an hallucinogen. It's highly addictive and often kills users after a few repetitive uses."

Coran was utterly floor. "A drug?" he gasped. "It exists… Oh… Oh this is… I have to tell Allura!" he cried.

"No!" Keith cried, grabbing the advisor's sleeve to stop him before he could run off and blab the news around the Castle. "You can't tell her. Not yet. I'm keeping a secret until the plant is in my hand just in case something happens. Also," he blushed, "it was for Lance's name day."

Coran's surprise eased to a fond smile. "I see," he said. "Very well. I'll keep your secret." He reached out an petted the halfbreed's head, mussing up his hair and ruffling his ears totally ignoring the red paladin's disgruntled growl. "But do let me know when you have it. I'll help you sneak it into the Castle, hm?"

"We both will," Shiro said, a broad smile on his face. He placed a hand on Keith's shoulder. "You did well, Keith."

The halfbreed's eyes grew round as he looked up at the black paladin in awe. His ears flipped up in an alert position as a faint smile worked its way onto his face. "Thanks," he murmured.

"Alright, that's enough of that," Coran said. "Off with you Keiht. Go back and _talk to your mate,"_ he said, waving a scolding finger emphatically at the halfbreeed. "Shiro, come with me and we'll begin interrogating Sendak."

Shiro's grin darkened to something dangerous that Keith hoped was never directed at him. For an instant, Keith almost thought he saw the Champion in Shiro again. He quickly turned on his heel and left the mess hall for the pod hanger bay. He needed to see Lance. He needed to talk to him.

* * *

The café was fixing to close shortly and Keith still hadn't returned. Lance stood out in the emptying parking lot of the café staring up at the sky. He'd hardly said a word since his lover had left. Keith hadn't even said a simple goodbye. It was a small thing, but it still hurt worse than the prince anticipated.

He heard music echoe through the streets from somewhere, the heavy bass pulsing his body like a heartbeat. The number of people wandering the town had begun to dwindle due to the late time. But the other members of Team Voltron still on Earth were lingering in the warmth of the café. Hunk and Pidge were good company, but the familiarity and atmosphere of this planet was simply too much for Lance to handle for much longer.

The air was thicker here than what he was used to on Altea. He'd managed to adjust his lungs slightly to adapt but his couldn't do much about the increased gravity. He felt heavier which combined with the darkness was dutifully attempting to convince his circadian rhythm that it was late at night and making him tired He'd already yawned multiple times.

However, he'd resisted any further efforts from Pidge to push that black concoction they called coffee on him. It tasted like something burnt. He favored the tea but even that didn't have the same earthy flavor juniberry tea or energy kick as the juniberry juice.

This planet, Earth, was reminding him too much of Altea. It was creating a physical ache he felt deep in his chest that wouldn't go away. He wanted to stay, but he also want to leave as quickly as he could.

"Lance?"

Startled, the prince whirled to see the yellow paladin standing in the parking lot behind him. Hunk was holding two drinks that were steaming in the cool, crisp night air. The prince held up a hand.

"No thank you," he said. "I'm fine."

"It's not coffee," Hunk said, holding out one of the drinks. "Promise. You'll like this."

Lance studied the yellow paladin's face closely, looking for any signs of deception, before sighing and taking the cup. He could feel the heat of the drink through the paper cup although the thicker paper ring that circled the cup where his hand held absorbed most of the heat. He lifted the drink to his nose and sniffed it carefully. It smelled curiously sweet. It wasn't a scent he recognized from inside the café though.

He took a sip, wincing when the hot liquid burned his tongue. Keith would probably guzzle this without worrying about the burn, but Lance was cold and therefore felt the temperature difference acutely. Nevertheless, he did get a hint of the taste and it was good. More than good. It was addicting. Suddenly, Lance was upset he couldn't drink it right away.

"Good?" Hunk asked in a tone that made it clear he already knew the answer.

Lance nodded. Enthusiastically. "What is this?" he asked.

"It's called hot chocolate," Hunk said, clasping his cup between both of his hands. "It's a favorite holiday and cold weather drink. Well," he shrugged, "I personally think it's an all-weather drink, if you know what I mean, but it's more popular in the holiday season."

Lance dared to take another sip. His tongue still got burned, but the temperature had eased off ever so slightly. He could now get a better teasing taste of the drink and it was making his mouth water. "Oh that's so good," he murmured appreciatively, hunching his body over the delicious drink.

"Yeah, I thought you'd like it," Hunk said with a smug grin. "I thought you might be lonely out here all by yourself in the cold with nothing to drink and no one to talk to and no-"

"Are you trying to hint at something, Hunk?" Lance asked chuckling.

"Maybe," Hunk said. "I guess I was worried about you," he said more seriously. "You didn't talk much when you came in when Keith left and then you just came out here and just stood here."

He sipped his own drink. Judging by the burnt smell, Lance suspected it was coffee.

"Are you okay?" Hunk asked.

Lance sighed and tried to drink the hot chocolate again, relaxing when the temperature had cooled to a tolerable level now. "No," he said. He lowered his gaze to the drink in his hands. "Hunk, if I told you something that…didn't use to mean anything to me and my people but now has a huge impact on Alteans as a race, would- How would you react?"

Hunk blinked and stared at Lance in surprise before considering the question. "Well," he said thoughtfully, "I guess it would depend on what it was. I mean, if it was life threatening, then I'd be worried. But if it was something like you don't eat plants, I guess I'd think you were weird but eh," he shrugged, "it's not really my place to judge. Why do you ask?"

The Altean prince lifted his gaze back up to the sky, feeling so small and insignificant. "When… If I told you I'm sterile, would you judge me?"

"Are you?" Hunk asked. After a tick, Lance nodded. Hunk sighed. "It's not your fault," Hunk said, placing his free hand on Lance's shoulder. "There are plenty of humans who're sterile too. It can be due to anything from a birth defect to a medical condition. Don't let anyone judge you for that."

Lance smiled.

"I'm guess you told Keith," Hunk said, watching Lance's smile fade. "And he didn't take it well."

"He took it better than I thought he would, honestly," Lance admitted. "But no. He hasn't spoken to me since."

"He didn't even say goodbye?" the yellow paladin demanded.

Lance shrugged, sipping his drink. "I think he was still trying to process what I told him."

"Yeah but.." Hunk pressed his lips together in a thin line and stepped up so he stood in front of his friend. "Lance, look at me," he said, waiting for the prince to obey. "You're obnoxious, you're a flirt, and your ridiculous," he said.

"Quiznak, not sparing the punches, are you Hunk?" Lance said wryly.

"But," Hunk interrupted loudly, holding up a finger, "you're also a loyal friend, a good paladin, a great paladin, and Allura's Sentinel. I'm still not sure what exactly goes into that title, by the way. But I'm proud to call you my friend, Lance. Something like sterility or whatever isn't going to change that."

Lance's smiled ease to something more natural. "Thanks Hunk," he said honestly. "I think I needed to hear that."

"No problem," the yellow paladin said.

Hunk clunked his cup of coffee against Lance's hot chocolate and drank. Perhaps that was an Earth tradition. Following suit, Lance also drank his hot chocolate. Then he smirked

"I'm also a shapeshifter," he said.

Hunk froze, then rolled his eyes. "Way to break the mood there, Lance," he said, tipping his head back to take a long drink of his coffee. When he lowered his head, Allura was standing in front of him.

The princess made what Hunk could only call a sultry smile and leaned forward, draping her arms over the yellow paladin's shoulders until her entire front was pressed up against Hunk's. But there was something not quite right. Her right eye didn't quite match the shade of turquoise of her left eye and her eye scales were blue instead of the usual pink. Hunk's face burned in embarrassed confusion.

"Hello Hunk," Allura said in- was that Lance's voice?! "I did say if it was gentleness you wanted, I would help you with that."

Holy crow that was Lance's voice what the crap what in the world oh Pele what the heck-

He screamed and threw Lance back, flailing frantically. Right in front of his eyes, Allura's white hair grew shorter and the color of her left eye returned to a darker, deep sea blue until Lance stood in her place bent over himself laughing harder than Hunk had ever seen him, laugh before.

"Your face," the prince gasped. "You-" He collapsed in another fit of laughter. He barely managed to pick his hot chocolate up from where he'd set it on the ground and stagger back into the café still laughing.

"That was mean, Lance," Hunk cried. "Don't do that. You can do that. By Pele, you can do that!"

"Pidge!" Lance called when he stepped back into the café. "I broke Hunk."


	70. PART 3 - 70: Peridot

**A/N:** Hey guys. Sorry I didn't update yesterday. Holy shit man. MSLTs are of the devil. I was so exhausted I developed a migraine and wasn't able to finish writing my personal 3k minimum for a chapter and crashed at 10:30-ish. I didn't even wake up fully until today at 11:30am. That's how tired I was.

But I'm here now. Things are beginning to happen and I'm beginning to get a clearer picture of where this is going. If it goes the way I think it will, then you should all prepare your hearts. Just FYI. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Iverson sees a ghost and Allura talks to a ghost.

* * *

 **70: Peridot - opens new doors, removes stress, fear, and guilt  
**

It was about 3:00 A.M. when Iverson was woken by a phone call. He hadn't been expecting one, but he'd gotten into the habit of leaving his phone unsilenced just in case his lawyer or the agency protecting him from retaliation by his former employers needed to contact him urgently. Last time he'd received such a call, it was to suggest he disconnect his landline because someone at the Garrison had leaked the number. Sure enough, not a few minutes after hanging up, his phone had begun to ring.

He'd ended up having to drive to the phone company's local office and telling them in person to cut off his land line. Then, just to be on the safe side, he packed a few things into his pickup truck and took an extended road trip. He'd settled down temporarily in a cabin in the north Georgia mountains because he heard Janice Holt lived the in the city of Atlanta. He wanted to be nearby in case he ever got the chance to pass along information to her. It had proved useful once when he informed the distraught mother of her daughter's misadventures in the Galaxy Garrison, but not so much since.

So when he groaned in his pillow and checked the caller ID on his cell phone and recognized the number as belonging to his contact at the Whistleblower Protection Agency, he was immediately fully awake.

"Hello?" he said groggily.

 _"Commander Iverson,"_ the person on the other end said sounding wide awake and perhaps a bit concerned. _"Have you checked the Internet recently?"_

"What?" Iverson said, sitting up and blinking away his exhaustion. "Not deliberately. Why?"

 _"You should be aware that there is a video of the missing cadets, Pidge Gunderson, or Katie Holt, and Hunk Palakiko, circulating the Internet,"_ the person said _. "We wanted to be sure you weren't the one responsible for the video."_

"No, I'm not," the commander said. He quickly reached over and turned on the light next to his bed and sat up fully. He grabbed his Bluetooth device and turned it on so he could talk hands free. "I'm looking it up now," he said.

The person on the other end of the line waited for Iverson to search for the video on Google. It came up as one of the top results. Good God, it was only uploaded last night and had already accumulated over 500,000 views. He watched the video which was obviously filmed by someone using a mobile device and who didn't want to be caught.

Sure enough, there was Hunk and Pidge talking away with… "My God," he whispered, pausing the video and zooming in on the third person on the screen. "Takashi Shirogane."

 _"Are you confirming that you were unaware of Shirogane's presence?"_ the Whistleblower representative asked.

Iverson could hardly believe his eyes. "I…yes," he said, still staring at the still image in disbelief. "He's alive. Has this been confirmed?" he demanded. "You need to tell me, is that person really Shirogane?"

 _"We were hoping you could answer that for us,"_ the person said.

The commander took one more look at the video and shook his head. "Based on what I'm seeing," he said slowly, "I'd say yes, that is Takashi Shirogane."

 _"And can you identify the others in the video, sir?"_ the person said, accompanied by the sound of papers being shuffled about and perhaps typing.

Iverson zoomed back out to seen the full image before playing the video. There were four other people present in the video. One, he recognized immediately as Janice Holt. The other three, however, he had never seen before.

"Are they dressed up?" he asked. "Are those costumes?"

 _"At present, we believe so,"_ the person replied. _"However, we can't identify them by face and voice. Also, we're unable to identify what language they're speaking."_

Curious, the commander raised the volume of the video and listened to the words as closely as he could. He couldn't hear much over the hubbub of the crowd in the café; but from what he could hear, none of it sounded familiar.

"I'm not sure what language that is either," he said. "I-"

He stiffened when the video vanished from his phone, replaced by the incoming call screen. Interestingly enough, the caller was Mrs. Holt.

"Look, can I call you back?" he said. "Someone's calling me and I need to answer this."

 _"May I ask who it is?"_

"Janice Holt," Iverson replied.

 _"I'm going to ask that whatever she says be relayed to us,"_ the person said. _"Anything we can use to protect you would be welcome."_

"I'll ask her," Iverson said. "Call you back." He hung up that call and answered Mrs. Holt's call. "Hello, Janice?" he said.

 _"Commander,"_ the woman said. _"Did I wake you?"_

"No, you didn't," Iverson said. "I was on the phone with someone when you called. They can wait, don't worry. What do you need?"

 _"Did you know Shirogane was alive?"_ she asked seriously.

The commander sighed. "No," he said honestly. "I was not aware until I saw the video."

 _"Video?"_ Janice said in confusion. _"What video?"_

"Someone at the café you were at earlier last night recorded you, Pidge, Hunk, and Shirogane as well as three other unidentified people," Iverson said. "I'm watching it right now, actually. Do you happen to know the names of the other three present?"

 _"Yes,"_ Janice said hesitantly. _"But I'm not sure it would be a good idea to tell you. I doubt they would appreciate the publicity."_

Iverson nodded in reluctant agreement. "I have to ask though, what in the Sam Hill that the purple one dressed as?"

For a moment, Janice didn't answer which in and of itself was strange. When she did spoke, the commander didn't know what to make of her words.

 _"That's what he looks like,"_ she said simply.

"I can see that," he said slowly. "I meant what is he dressed as?"

 _"That's what he looks like, commander,"_ Mrs. Holt said again. _"That's what he naturally looks like. If you understand my meaning."_

Iverson scoffed. "People aren't purple naturally, Mrs. Holt," he said.

She was silent for slightly longer this time. _"I didn't say he was human,"_ she said.

Iverson blinked slowly. "Say again?"

Janice sighed heavily. _"He's not human, Malcom,"_ she said seriously. _"Neither are his companions."_

"Aliens?" he said. "Janice, I don't think-"

 _"You didn't see what I saw, Malcom,"_ Janice said. _"Those ears? They move. And the dark skinned boy with pointed ears? He can change his form."_

"What? As in-"

 _"Shapeshift, yes."_

This was unbelievable.

 _"I saw him do it with my own eyes,"_ Janice said. _"That said, I'm not sure if it would be wise to pass along that information."_

"I…" What was he supposed to say to that? "Where are you right now?"

 _"Why?"_ she asked suspiciously.

"I would like to meet them," he said. "Shirogane in particular."

 _"Shirogane has left for the time being but I'll ask them,"_ she said. _"Don't be surprised if they say no, though. Also, please don't pass this information along."_

Iverson nodded, catching himself. "Right," he said. "I'll do what I can. How long are the rest of them staying? I doubt this information can stay secret for long considering current events."

 _"Agreed,"_ Janice said with a sigh. _"I won't let anything happen to them, commander. They're helping Katie find Matt and Samuel. That takes precedence."_

"Matthew and Samuel Holt are alive as well?" Iverson gasped, immediately recovering. "Tell Shirogane something for me, would you? If you can. Tell him, I'm proud of him."

 _"I can do that,"_ Janice said. _"Goodnight, commander."_

"Goodnight."

When he heard the click of the phone call ending, Iverson leaned back against the bed. He would have to think carefully about what he told the WPA when he called them back. This was a First Contact scenario and he was hardly the person equipped to handle this. But Takashi Shirogane was his best student and knowing that boy was alive and well was an immense relief.

He needed a drink.

* * *

"I see," the memory of King Alfor said softly.

Allura sat on the floor of the holodeck surrounded by a field of juniberry flowers drawn from the long dead king's memory. She had pulled her legs up to her chest and tucked her knees under her chin.

"So," he said, leaning back on his hands next to his daughter, "it would appear this Keith is not what Lance needs."

The princess shook her head. "No, I think he is," she said. "I just don't think he realizes how some things affect Lance. Granted, he has no prior experience to drawn from so he's basically learning everything from scratch. But still." She sighed heavily. "I wish he hadn't reacted the way he did."

"Neither do I," Alfor said, his expression drawn in worry.

"I gave him a strict talking to," Allura said, smiling faintly, "and sent him back to Earth to talk to Lance. If they don't talk like I think they should, then I may have to get Coran to dig out to Mental Bond helmets. I might just have him do that anyway," she said. "It could be a good team building exercise."

Alfor chuckled. "It could be that, or cause more mayhem."

"How so?" the princess asked curiously.

"Are you sure you're ready for them to know all of your secrets?" the former king asked gently. "Depending on the level their bond has already reached, they may be able to reach deeper into each other's minds than you meant for them to. That can cause distrust in a strongly bonded group." He turned his gaze to his daughter. "You understand the value of some secrets remaining secrets."

Allura nodded. "But if it would help…"

"If you think it would help, then go ahead," Alfor said. "You're the leader of this adventure, not me. All I can do is watch and offer aid where I can. I'll protect you in any way I can, Allura. You know that."

"I do," she said, smiling at her father's spectral form next to her. "I guess…" She bit her lip as her smile faded. "I guess I just want to go home," she admitted quietly. "I want to go back to Altea. I know it's selfish but I just want everything to go back the way it was before Zarkon betrayed us. What made him do that, father?" She lifted her head and met her father's gaze directly. "Why made Zarkon, our strongest ally, betray us so suddenly? So cruelly? I'm sure whatever problem he had with us could have been handled through diplomacy."

"Some things can never be solved by diplomacy alone," Alfor said, reaching out to brush his holographic finger over his daughter's cheek. "It is nice to dream of a universe like that, but it is also an unrealistic dream. The world is simply too vast and too different for every problem to be solved by words alone." He smiled tenderly. "Although I admire you for holding such a dream."

Allura curled tighter in her ball sadly. She knew her dream was unrealistic, but that didn't stop her from dreaming it. She hated taking lives. She wasn't ready for this. She never wanted to be the Heir in the first place. She was so sure Aldrun or even Alwida would be named the Heir. Or, better yet, someone she didn't know. A new royal family brought into the fold. But the people of Altea had named her the Heir.

Had they remained in a time of peace, perhaps she would have been the best choice. But now, during a time of galactic war, she felt small and insignificant. She wasn't ready for this. She didn't know if she was ready to lead the way her paladins expected her to. She squeezed her eyes shut, fighting the tears away. This was no time to wallow in self-doubt.

"Father," she murmured, "do you think I can do this?"

She felt the light tingle on her shoulder indicating Alfor's memory was touching her.

"Yes," he said. "Yes, I do. You have proven yourself to be a great leader, Allura. You are strong; let no one tell you otherwise. You have the courage to stand tall in the face of your enemies, the wisdom to make the right choice when it matters most, and the determination to see this through to the end. You have Coran who will always support you to the best of his ability, a team of paladins who can successfully form Voltron, and a Sentinel who will always ensure you survive to fight another day."

Allura winced. "Lance believes he's supposed to die for me," she said.

"He is," Alfor said.

The princess lifted her head and stared at her father in shock. "What?" she gasped in a small voice. "He can't die, Father. He's my brother. He ca-"

"He is indeed your brother," the former king said, nodding. "But that now takes second place to his position as your Sentinel." He met his daughter gaze sadly. "He knew that when he accepted the title I gave him. The Sentinel's duty is to protect, watch, and guard the Heir. If it's a choice between the paladins of Voltron or the Heir, the Sentinel must choose the Heir. If it's a choice between the universe or the Heir, the Sentinel must choose the Heir. If it's a choice between the Sentinel and Heir, the Heir must choose the Heir."

"But that's…" A icy cold lump began to form in Allura chest, clenching around her heart. "He can't choose me over the universe or the paladins or himself," she said softly in dawning horror. "He's my _brother."_

"He must," Alfor said firmly. "And if he respects his position as the Sentinel, then he _will."_

"But that's _wrong,"_ Allura said fiercely, her eyes narrowing in fury. "If it's a choice between and the universe or the paladins, Lance _must_ choose them. I'd rather die than let the universe fall."

"Be that as it may," the former king said gently, "Lance's duty as the Sentinel comes first. He will choose you."

Allura shook her head. "I'll order him not to," she said firmly.

"He'll disregard that order and do his duty," Alfor said.

"My life is _not_ more important than the universe," Allura growled.

"It is to the Sentinel," Alfor said calmly.

"That's twisted," the princess hissed.

"You never had a problem with it before," Alfor said, startling his daughter. "Nothing has changed from before the Galra attacked us. The only difference that now the Sentinel's duty is more of a reality and less of a position. The duties remain the same. It's just that _now_ the idea of choosing between the Heir and the universe has a basis in reality whereas before," he shook his head, "it was just an idea, a concept that defined the Sentinel."

Allura grit her teeth in seething anger. "It's wrong."

Alfor sighed. "If you truly doubt my words," he said "then why don't you go back to Altea and demand answers from it."

"Altea is gone," Allura said, fighting the urge to cry as her swirling emotions threatened to overwhelm her. "You know that."

The former king gave her an odd look. "It may be far away," he said, "but it isn't gone."

"Yes it is," Allura insisted. "It's destroyed, Father."

"No it isn't," Alfor said, leaning over so he could meet his daughter's shocked gaze. "Whatever gave you that idea?"

"Wha- But it _is,"_ she said. "It's gone. It's been 10,000 periods. There's no way Altea would have survived this long without Alteans."

The former king shook his head slowly. "You aren't the only Alteans in existence," he said. "I'm sure there are more on Altea."

"Altea is _gone,"_ Allura said firmly.

"No, Allura," Alfor said, placing a hand on his daughter's knee. "It isn't. Let me show you."

Allura watched in cautious hope as her father waved his hand and a holographic star map appeared. The former king gestured and the stars flew past their faces before the Altean star system appeared in front of her. Allura's breath left her as she scrambled to her feet. She could barely believe her eyes.

There, hovering in space directly in front of her, was the Daystar. Orbiting the Daystar was the two planets Allura never thought she'd ever see again except in her dreams: Altea and Achlys.

"That's impossible," she whispered, tapping the holographic image of Altea and a readout in Altean lettering appeared next to the planet. "This… This isn't possible. Why didn't I see this before?"

"Because I hid it," Alfor said. "I was afraid of what would happen if someone discovered it still existed before I had the chance to tell you."

"Why didn't you tell me before?" Allura demanded.

Her father sighed and studied his daughter's distraught expression sadly. "Because you weren't ready," he said. "You had to learn to stand on your own two feet before learning you had someplace to fall back to." He held up a hand to forestall his daughter's argument. "If you had known Altea still existed, would you have spent so much time helping your paladins grow as a team before seeking aid from Altea? Or would you have gone straight home?"

Allura pressed her lips together and looked away guiltily. Her father rested a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

"I'm not angry or upset," he said, turning his daughter's face to his. "You must understand that. I'm not upset. In fact, I'm proud. I'm _proud_ of you Allura." He smiled broadly. "I am so very proud of you. You have become an Heir that anyone would be proud to follow. Never doubt that."

For the first time in a long time, Allura felt hope kindle a warm flame in her chest. She was still confused and still doubted her true strength and position as the Heir. That would probably not change for a while. But now she felt that maybe that while wasn't as far away as she'd feared. Perhaps she wasn't ready yet, but she could be. She would be.

True, she wasn't ready to face the Galra Empire head on. But no one faced off directly with a powerful empire built over thousands of periods immediately. She had time to build her forces, learn who her allies were, and find her place in this universe. She may be the Heir in name now, but soon she would be the Heir in practice as well. With Lance, Coran, and her paladins by her side, she would return to Altea and be ready to embrace her true potential as the Heir of Altea. With her father's help, she would be ready to defeat the Galra Empire.


	71. PART 3 - 71: Morganite

**A/N:** Okay, so technically I wrote this last night immediately after finishing writing last chapter. I figured I'd upload this this morning, though, to make up for missing an update Saturday. Fair warning, I've thrown a couple things in here that may throw y'all for a loop. One of them is hinted at in the _Voltron: Defender of the Universe_ canon but I don't think it was ever explicitly said. It may bother some of you but just remember that our concept of morality is different from an alien culture's. The second thing is entirely my canon and it'll be made clear in later chapters so don't worry if y'all miss it here.

 _īeg_ \- old English for island  
 _photovoltaic - relating to the production of electric current at the junction of two substances exposed to light_  
 _Tyndaridae_ \- Another name for the mythological brothers Castor and Pollux, the latter of whom Romelle's home planet is named after **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Thace is unnerved and Romelle decides to deal with a replacement for the time being. **  
**

* * *

 **71: Morganite - balances emotions, heals pain of separation, a subtle and powerful love energy  
**

This wasn't exactly what he thought he would be doing when he'd been told he would be attached to Lotor's team. Granted, he didn't ever know what to expect when the Galran prince was involved. Usually chaos, but hardly anything else. He felt useless, which wasn't necessarily the best thing to feel when working this close with either the emperor or the prince. Uselessness often resulted in an unpleasant end.

So he kept himself as busy as he could, all things considered. At the moment, that meant keeping Commander Prorok calm. Prorok had been left behind on Prince Lotor's battlecruiser orbiting Meserie and was being very vocal about his displeasure. Thace sighed and rubbed his forehead as a headache threatened to take him down.

"Are you well, Subcommander?"

He stiffened at the unexpected voice. "Yes, my lord," he said automatically.

"Really?" Lotor asked, eyeing Thace from over the top of his drink. "You seem a bit put upon, shall we say."

Thace stood tall, pushing his discomfort to the back of his mind. "It is nothing to concern yourself with, my lord," he said.

"Nonsense," Lotor said. "It's my job to be aware of the mindset of all those under me. What seems to be bothering you, Subcommander?"

Thace grit his teeth but answered honestly. "Commander Prorok is displeased with his assignment," he said.

Lotor chuckled. "And he's chosen you as his verbal target, I see." He stood from the couch on the patio and strolled over to where the subcommander stood. "I assume he's done nothing but talk."

"No, my lord," Thace said. "Nothing but talk."

The prince snorted. "I'm not surprised," he muttered in mild disdain.

"My lord?"

"If Prorok was half the Galra we assumed he was when he was first promoted to commander," Lotor said, "then he would have done something by now. Simply complaining is a sign of laziness which is unacceptable. Had he any desire to better his position, then he would have acted or spoken to me directly. Going through a middle man is…" He rolled his eyes in annoyance and sipped his drink.

Thace nodded carefully. "I shall keep that in mind, my lord," he said.

"And you can pass that along to my father, if you wish," Lotor added. "I'm sure he would be interested in learning that."

The subcommander flushed and looked away. "I apologize if my presence is a detriment," he said.

Lotor waved his apology aside. "You were assigned to this position," he said. "Assigned by the Emperor himself. That isn't a command that can easily be ignored or dismissed."

"Thank you for your understanding, my lord," Thace said, lowering his head in submission.

"Was there anything useful in Prorok's rambling?" the prince asked, deliberately omitting the commander's title.

Thace did not miss the slight to his commander, but he said nothing in Prorok's defense. "He did mention receiving a communication from Merla," Thace said. "She should be arriving shorty."

"Good," Lotor said, grinning. "I have a few choice words for her." He sipped his drink and glanced at Thace curiously. "Tell me about yourself, Subcommander."

Thace stiffened in surprise. "My lord?"

"Do not make me repeat myself," Lotor said, a steely gleam in his golden eyes. "It's vastly annoying and a waste of my time."

"Yes, my lord," Thace said. "I studied under Commander Sendak before receiving my promotion to subcommander. Then I was assigned to Commander Prorok where I've remained since."

"My condolences," Lotor said, to which Thace narrowed his eyes.

"I may not enjoy working under the Commander," he said, "but he is still my commander and I would appreciate it greatly if you did not continue to talk about him in such a disrespectful manner."

Thace braced himself for a strike or verbal assault in response to his words, but received none. Instead, Lotor threw his head back and laughed.

"Most interesting," the prince said. "Smart and loyal. Not a combination found often in my father's commanding officers, I must say. Sendak was one of the few exceptions. Brilliant mind and sharp tongue. His only folly was relying on the Druids' magic when he fell short of his goals."

"You dislike the Druids?" Thace asked curiously.

"Distrust is more like," the prince said. "They have sway over my father's mind. A true emperor should think on his own without the influence of others so close to his ear."

Thace nodded hesitantly.

"Do me a favor and keep my words to yourself," Lotor said. "Inform me when Merla arrives."

"Yes, my lord," Thace said, watching the prince retreat.

He wasn't sure how to read Lotor. Every instinct within him screamed to flee from the prince's presence much the same as what he experienced in the Druids' or Emperor Zarkon's presence. There was a part of him that whispered frantically that Lotor suspected him of betrayal, even though he had no proof. But proof wasn't necessarily needed considering the power Lotor wielded. Thace would have to work harder to turn suspicion onto Commander Prorok.

This was a mess.

* * *

The īeg she boarded was one of the larger ones in this colony. It was designed to be a waystation for travelers hoping to catch the next balea to the nearest city. In this case, the nearest city was the capitol. Romelle was immensely relieved when she stepped off of the balea and into the īeg. It meant she was that much closer to home.

Bandor had informed her of the current political situation on Pollux and it hadn't been good news. It seemed her father was slipping further into the realm of insanity. She would have to watch her step more so than usual. It was too much to hope that King Cova hadn't heard of her escape from Lotor's clutches, but she could at least cling to the tenuous belief that her father didn't know where she was. The longer she could hide right under his nose, the better.

King Cova was an outspoken ally of the Galra. The only thing preventing him from formally offering up sacrifices for the Druids' despicable Robeast experiments was the steadfast refusal of the people. Pollux may be officially considered a member of the Empire, but the majority of the natives didn't consider themselves Galran citizens. Thankfully, they were wise enough to keep their mouths shut but strong-willed enough to keep King Cova's power in check, for now anyway. This was a tourist planet after all. As long as tourism was booming and the money was flowing, no one, not even the king would rise up and cause trouble during this time of tenuous peace.

Romelle bit her lip in frustration. Her people could withstand the strongest hurricane but she wasn't sure if they could weather the not-so-little political storm that was to come. Granted, her opinion of the situation was slightly skewed. She herself had once been in full support of her father's alliance to the Galra Empire. Then she'd had a taste of it firsthand. That had been an eye-opening experience that she would not soon forget. Freedom was a much better choice than the pseudo-freedom they currently experienced under Galra control.

She wandered deeper into the īeg's interior, stepping into the lift. Bandor remained on the main floor to cover their expenses. They had to keep their distance from each other as much as possible. King Cove was aware of Bandor's presence which was proving to be a drawback to her plans. If she was going to depose her father, she would need her little brother's help. She would have to think carefully about how to utilize her father's questionable sanity and obsessive control of her siblings against him. She doubted it would be too much trouble. At least, she hoped it wouldn't be.

The entirety of what she about to do hit her full force and she had to press her hand against the side of the lift to keep herself from crumbling. Forcing herself to stand tall, she pushed one of the lift buttons without paying attention to which one and felt the vehicle slow to a stop on the designated floor. It wasn't the observation deck at the top of the īeg where she'd intended to go but one of the hydroponics floors.

The plants grown here were mainly used for both pleasure gardens as well as produce to ship on the baleas to the nearby towns and cities. As was typical of most īegs, the room was one large atrium with multiple floors with mezzanines overlooking the arrival platform far below by the water's surface. The outer wall was almost completely made of photovoltaic panes which absorbed the sunlight and used it to power the īeg's systems.

The inner wall on which she stood was filled with plants growing from the mezzanines. Sunlight streamed through the glass ceiling farther up allowing the plants to survive. The irrigation system was a little trickier because the water had to be purified before being used to water the plants. Salt water was never good for living organisms other than sailfin or those who dwelt in the water itself.

There were a few other people on this level, mostly tourists. A few were locals but none of them recognized her, thank the 'verse. She would probably have to do something about her appearance if she wanted to maintain a low profile. She didn't stand out exactly, but she was somewhat noticeable. She ran a hand through her sun gold hair self-consciously. She should consider dyeing it.

A persistent buzzing on her wrist caught her attention. She lifted her hand and pressed the button on the side of the small communicator, answering the call. "I'm here. Did you need something?"

 _"I just got word from one of our contacts,"_ Bandor's voice said, sounding tinny through the mechanical device. " _I think you should hear this yourself."_

"Can you send it to me?" she asked.

 _"I can do that,"_ he said. _"Sending it to you now. Let me know when you finish receiving it."_

Romelle studied the digital image on her communicator, impatiently waiting for it to finish downloading. When it flashed a 'complete' accompanied by the little bell, she grinned. "I have it," she said. "Is there anything I should be listening for specifically?"

 _"Yeah,"_ her brother said seriously. _"You might recognize a name or two in there. Hey Romelle, let me know if it's too much."_

"I see," she said. "Was there anything else?"

 _"Just one more thing,"_ Bandor said. _"Our ride'll be here shortly."_

"Already?" she said, leaning over the mezzanine to look down at the landing platform. "I thought we still had two standard tecks before our balea arrived."

 _"I guess they're running ahead,"_ Bandor said.

Romelle sniffed. "Bandor, you may be a good strategist but you are horrible at subterfuge," she said. "What aren't you telling me?"

 _"Nothing,"_ he said.

The princess grumbled. "Fine. Be that way. See if I sneak you some sailfin later."

 _"…be glad I love you enough to overlook that threat."_

She huffed and ended the call. Leaning against the mezzanine, she typed in the code that would connect the device to her translator and settled back to listen to the message.

 _"I apologize for the delay in my report."_

Ah. Thace. Maybe she should have taken her brother's warning to heart.

 _"Voltron has defeated Subcommander Ylvik's fleet as well as a Robeast at Balmera 95-Vox. The planet is currently free of Galra control."_

Romelle had to stop the recorded message to fully comprehend the enormity of that statement. The entire planet was free? A Robeast and an entire Galra fleet had been defeated? By Voltron? She would have to take this 'Voltron' character more seriously. What was it? Was it a person? A team? A ship? Surely it wasn't one ship. There wasn't any single ship she could think of that was capable of defeating an entire Galra fleet and a Robeast without taking incredible damage that would inevitably lead to it being decommissioned. She needed to know more. She started the recording again, allowing it to pick up where it left off.

 _"I've been able to embed what information I could get into this message. There were two ships facing Ylvik's fleet: Voltron and an as yet unidentified ship the emperor suspects is the Castle of Lions." A sigh. "I didn't give the legend of Voltron much credence at first, but now… I'm finding it harder and harder **not** to believe it."_

As hesitant as she was to admit it, Romelle was beginning to agree. Whether this was the real Voltron of legend or just something wearing that name, it was being a thorn in Zarkon's side and that was a good enough reason to approve of it.

 _"I've been in contact with the traders,"_ Thace's recorded voice continued. _"They claim to have a contact within Voltron's team who's willing to trade information with them. They swore they never shared names, just information. This could be your chance to offer an alliance."_

True. This was certainly an opportunity she wouldn't overlook. But she would need more solid information before revealing her hand too soon. Everything she knew about Voltron was all secondhand or hearsay. She would need to do some research to back up what she was hearing before coming to a final decision.

 _"That said, if an alliance with Voltron is decided,"_ Thace said, _"then you should be aware of something. The Emperor is focusing the majority of his attention on the capture of someone he believes is the key to controlling Voltron. I don't know his name, just his title: Sentinel."_

 _Sentinel? Sentinel of what,_ Romelle wondered.

 _"Zarkon is sending his son Lotor t-"_

Romelle stopped the track and take a deep breath to calm herself before continuing. Bandor had definitely been right. She probably should have mentally and emotionally prepared herself for this. To think she could still be disturbed as badly as she was just by the prince's name was bothersome. She hated herself for it. It had been over six turns since she'd seen the Galran prince last. She never wanted to see him again unless it was tied to a weight and dropped into the sea to be crushed by the water pressure. If he didn't drown first, that is.

She took a deep breath to steady herself and started the recording once more.

 _"-to track the Sentinel and Voltron down. I've been attached to Lotor's guard for the time being so I don't know when I'll be able to send another report. If you meet the Sentinel, I highly suggest you talk to him. Zarkon wants him alive and unharmed. If that doesn't convince you of his importance, then I honestly don't know what would." Another sigh. "I hope this message finds you well."_

The recording ended and Romelle sighed. It had been a while since she'd heard Thace's voice. He was one of her most prized informants. Although his position so close to Emperor Zarkon was a blessing, it was also a curse. He was close enough to the emperor to learn things her other informants and spies wouldn't learn of until much later. However, his position also meant he couldn't communicate often and the few times he could send out a message, it had to be short and to the point.

Thace had been instrumental in helping her escape Lotor, a fact that worried her beyond what it probably should. She nibbled her fingernail as she ran over Thace's words in her mind. The more she heard of this Voltron, the more she wanted to see it or them in action, whoever or whatever they were. If Voltron was capable of freeing an entire planet from the Galra on its own, then it was definitely a good contender for a potential alliance.

The fact she already had an indirect contact inside the Voltron group was a plus. She would have look into learning more about this contact before offering a formal request for an alliance. If Rolo and Nyma were the ones responsible for creating this new addition to her spy network, whether deliberate or not, then they deserved to be the ones who worked as her middle men. They weren't stupid. They could handle themselves.

Then there was the last part of Thace's message. It would appear she'd found a chink in Emperor Zarkon's armor. If the Emperor was as desperate to find this Sentinel person as she was led to believe, then finding them first would be a huge advantage. The fact the Sentinel had connections to Voltron too only cemented in her mind the need to track him down before Lotor god his meathooks into him.

She knew it would take time; the universe was big after all. But it would be worth it in the end. The rebellion needed all the help it could get.

She was so deep in her thoughts, that she didn't notice stepping into the lift until the doors hissed open on the main floor. Bandon waved to catch her attention. His reddish-brown hair was hard to miss in the crowd of people standing on the landing platform. A small skiff was docked at the platform, ready to ferry her and her brother to the balea waiting in the larger dock just outside the covered dome of the īeg.

This balea was almost identical to the one they'd ridden to this īeg earlier that morning. The only difference was this balea was smaller and designed for deeper water than the previous one. This balea would take Romelle directly to the rebellion's home base, deep below the capitol of Pollux, right below King Cova's nose. Why look for a rebel base in your ally's capitol, or in this case, _under_ its capitol?

"Ready to go?" Bandor asked as they boarded the balea.

"Ready as I'll ever be," she said.

Her little brother watched her with his dark brown eyes. "I'm sorry about the message," he said. "I probably should have waited to give it to you until we were on board but I figured you'd want to listen to it sooner rather than later."

Romelle smiled and mussed her little brother's hair fondly. "Don't worry about it," she said. "I'm glad you did it. I needed to hear that, more than I thought I would."

Bandor hesitated by the doorway, watching the īeg retreat into the sunset before vanishing in a sea of blue-green as the balea dove beneath the waves. "You miss him," he said. "Don't you?"

She didn't need to answer. Bandor knew.

"Avok's going to meet us at Tyndaridae," Bandor said.

"He can't do that," Romelle said, pausing to look back at her brother. "Tyndaridae may be a big city, but people would still notice if the crown prince went missing."

"He's supposedly on a hunting trip," Bandor said. "If he happens to get back the same day we do," he shrugged, "then coincidences happen. Although," he said, eyeing is sister's dress, "you might want to put on something more appealing, if you get my drift." He snickered and adopted a dramatic attitude. "Hunting can be tiresome and I'm sure big, brave brother wouldn't turn down a lovely lady's proposal."

Romelle snorted. "I'll keep that in mind," she said wryly. "I could use a distraction, I suppose."

Her brother wrinkled his nose. "You're weird."

"Careful Bandor," Romelle teased. "I know where you sleep."

"As long as you don't climb in with me like Avok does to you, I'm fine," Bandor aid. "I actually value my sleep. Unlike some people," he muttered under his breath.

Romelle sniffed disdainfully. She meant what she said. She could use the distraction, especially after hearing Thace's voice again. She suspected Bandor knew and that was why he mentioned Avok. Her older brother may be loyal to her cause, but he was too close to their father to rely on for anything except information. Well, and the occasional sex. He may not be the one she wanted, but he could sate her and that was all that mattered. Besides, if Nyma came through with getting her more contraceptives, then she could maybe even enjoy herself.

Maybe if she imagined a darker face, larger ears, a deeper voice, and a firmer grip, then she could even enjoy herself. As long as she remembered to call out the right name. She doubted her brother would appreciate being called Thace.


	72. PART 3 - 72: Carnelian

**A/N:** Ok, so I seem to have confused and freaked out a few of you from the content of last chapter. In the original _Voltron: Defender of the Universe_ series, it was implied Romelle and Avok had more than sibling feelings for each other even though it was never explicitly said. Then Avok died and Romelle met Sven (the original series' version of Shirogane) and they fell in love/married. That won't happen in this fic because Shiro is with Allura.

In this fic, Romelle is in love with Thace and is Keith's mom. I also have it so that even if Romelle, Bandor, and Avok all have the same father (King Cova), they don't have the same mother. They all have different mothers. It doesn't matter who their mothers are/were. Just that they're all step-siblings on par with _Code_ _Geass,_ if you're familiar with that. The incest will be a minor thing at best just like it was in the original series. Hope that clears things up a bit. Let me know if you have any more questions and I'll do my best to answer.

As for this chapter, all I can say is this: you aren't ready. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Pidge tries using a classic couples trope, but it doesn't work the way the Internet led her to believe it would. **  
**

* * *

 **72: Carnelian - releases sorrow, envy, fear, apathy and rage  
**

Since he'd already flown this route once before with Shiro, Keithek remembered where to go. It was a slightly trickier staying hidden in the daylight even with Pidge's cloaking. Thankfully the pod was small enough to fly undetected at relatively low altitudes. He was fully prepared to fly back to the parking deck where they'd landed the first time, but then Pidge contact him.

 _"Keith, you there?"_

"I am," he replied. "I should be arriving in a few tecks."

 _"Don't bother. We're moving. Can you pick up my signal?"_

Keithek checked the view screen on the left and saw the green paladin's signal pulsing ahead on the coordinate map. "Yes. Want me to follow it?"

 _"Yeah,"_ Pidge said. _"Mom didn't want to drive all the way back to Atlanta so late so we walked up the street to a hotel and booked a room for a couple nights. There's a parking deck right next to the hotel where you can slip the pod in and park."_

"Understood," he said, adjusting his course so it locked on the green paladin's pulsing target. "Hey Pidge," he said slowly. "Is Lance there with you?"

 _"Hm? Yeah, he is. Why?"_

"Is he alright?" Keithek held his breath and he waited for a response.

 _"No,"_ Pidge said. _"He says he is, but after you left, he stood outside for a while and didn't talk to anyone that I know of. Hunk had to go out there and bring him back in."_

Keithek sighed.

 _"What did you do?"_

"I made a mistake," Keithek admitted. "He told me something in confidence and I didn't handle it well."

Pidge hummed. _"I'll bring Lance out to the deck with me to meet you,"_ she said. _"You have water in there?"_

"In the pod?" asked in confusion.

 _"Yeah."_

"Yes," Keithek said slowly. "Why?"

 _"No reason."_

That wasn't suspicious at all, Keithek thought. "Look," he said, "I'll be there in a few tecks so why don't the two of you come on out."

 _"Sure thing. See you in a few."_

The click indicating the communication had been cut was a bit louder than Keithek had anticipated causing his ears to press against his head in pain. Pidge must have dropped the communicator or something before she hung up. Whatever happened, he sincerely hoped he didn't have to hear it again.

When he arrived in the airspace over the town, he aligned the pod with the street the café was on and flew up it until he heard the beep indicating Pidge was within visual range. He looked up to the main view screen and immediately noticed the flashing green target around a figure standing on the highest level of what looked like a parking deck. There was another, taller person standing beside the first. He could never not recognize that person.

Lance.

He swerved over the parking deck, kicking up dust as he did so, and uncloaked. Pidge waved and pointed to an empty spot in a dead-end corner of the parking deck facing what he assumed to be the hotel. There were several other vehicles parked on the top floor of the parking deck. Some were similar to the Altean pod, but most were wheeled vehicles.

Keithek shut down the pod and stood from the pilot seat, climbing back to the back compartment where the door was. When the door opened, he stepped out into the brisk night air and was met by his fellow paladins. Pidge had her head bent over a small device which held her complete attention. Lance, however, stood next to the green paladin staring at Keithek with an unreadable expression, his arms crossed over his chest.

The red paladin grimaced and turned to close the pod door behind him when the lights inside suddenly came on. Surprised, he leaned back into the pod to see what had activated the pod's system. The next thing he knew, there was a startled cry followed by something hitting him in the back, knocking him onto the floor. The weight on top of him flailed, flopping onto the ground next to him. Keithek looked over to see what it was and blinked in shock when he saw a very flustered Lance.

The Altean prince scrambled up, reaching for the pod door which slid shut behind them, locking them inside. Stunned, Keithek sat up and hit the panel which should open the door. However, just before he could touch it, the lights in the little pod went out entirely leaving him and Lance in complete darkness.

"Pidge!" Lance cried, standing by the door and banging his fist against the metal surface. "Pidge open this door this instant."

"Nope," came Pidge's muffled response from the other side.

Keithek thanked his Galran night vision because otherwise he would have missed the prince's hilarious expression. Lance's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in offense. Keithek's ears twitched, catching the faint sound of footsteps walking away. Did…

"Did she just lock us in here?" Keithek said in disbelief.

"Pidge let us out now," Lance shouted at the door.

 _"Sorry guys,"_ Pidge's voice said through the pod's communicator. _"At risk of falling for a very classic trope, you two need to talk."_

"Wha-"

 _"So you both'll be sleeping in the pod tonight,"_ Pidge said, sounding ridiculously smug. _"Sweet dreams and for all our sakes, talk or I'll get Allura to help me next time. Nighty-night boys."_

"She can't do this," Lance whispered. "You can't do this!" she yelled, pushing Keithek aside to try activating the pod's systems. But no matter how hard he tried, the dashboard would not respond. "Let me out!" Lance cried, slamming his fists against the view screen ceiling.

When nothing happened, Lance huffed and leaned against the dashboard and hung his head in defeat. He lifted it once to shoot a glare out the window. Pidge was nowhere in sight, but Keithek suspected it wouldn't have made much of a difference even if she had been. There wasn't anything they could do but wait until morning.

"Lance?" he said.

When the prince didn't acknowledge him, Keithek placed a hand on his shoulder only to have it be shrugged off. He swallowed over the lump in his throat and sighed.

"Lance?" he tried again.

"Don't, Keith," the prince said tiredly. "I don't want to hear it."

"Well then I'm going to talk to myself and since this is a one room pod, I guess you have no choice but to listen to me," Keithek said.

Lance groaned and hung his head. For a good few tecks, Keithek remained silent, trying to find the right words to say.

"I'm sorry," Keithek said simply. Lance didn't move. "I'm sorry I reacted the way I did when you told me you were…"

"Can you even say it?" Lance asked almost too soft to be heard.

"Sterile," Keithek said, after a couple tries. "When you told me you were sterile." He leaned back against the metal side of the pod and sank to the floor. "I'm sorry I didn't… I didn't know what to say. I never knew. I had no idea you were suffering while I was…" He closed his eyes and let his head thud against the metal behind him. "I just kept picturing you in pain while I had sex with you. I kept thinking, I hurt you. I hurt you and I didn't even notice. How did I not notice you weren't enjoying yourself? How could I be sure you weren't just letting me use you like some common whore?"

His ears twitched, hearing the sound of cloth rustling. Lance was still silent so he didn't stop speaking.

"I told Allura," Keithek said. "She practically threw my concerns back in my face." He chuckled. "She basically told me that I was worrying over something I didn't understand. She said I shouldn't jump to conclusions based on half-baked knowledge. She said…" He sighed. "She said I should just ask you. But before I do, there's something I need to tell you."

He opened his eyes and looked up at Lance. The prince was standing between the two pilot seats with his back to Keithek.

"I'm not leaving you," Keithek said. "I won't ever leave you. Especially not over something like sterility. You're my mate. That won't ever change. I need you to know that."

He watched the prince swallow and bow his head, resting a hand on one of the seats next to him. But Lance didn't speak or turn around. He stayed where he was.

"I am sorry," Keithek said, watching his mate's back closely. "If I ever hurt you, I apologize. If you don't want to have sex, that's fine. I understand. But you need to tell me when I disrespect you or if you ever feeling like I'm using you for sex. You're not a who-"

"You weren't using me," Lance said softly, still not turning around. "I knew you weren't using me. I wanted it just as badly as you did." His shoulder rose and fell in a small shrug. "I guess a part of me hoped that I would be able to feel something if I did it with you. I didn't. I never did and I never will," he said with a sigh. "But that doesn't mean you're using me."

Keithek watched as Lance ran the fingers of his free hand through his brown hair. "It did hurt sometimes," Lance said. "I won't deny that. But it also felt good. When I took you to bed the first time, I knew what I was getting myself into. I knew what would happen, but I wanted it anyway."

"When you left without saying goodbye, I…" Lance shook his head. "I knew you had to process what I'd told you. You have to understand, I never meant to tell you that way. That wasn't what I wanted. I wanted to tell you about my sterility but I didn't know how you would react." He gulped and looked down. "I was afraid you'd reject me." He huffed a weak laugh. "This is ridiculous," Lance muttered. "I don't even love you, I don't think."

Keithek winced at the unexpected barb.

"But I care about your opinion of me more than I thought I did," Lance continued. "When you left, I thought… I thought you were distancing yourself from me."

Keithek groaned and let his head hang. "I should have at least said goodbye," he said. "I was wrong to leave without saying anything."

The silence that followed was tense but contemplative. Music from somewhere in town, muffled and distorted by the pod's metal shell, wafted to Keithek's ears. It was foreign and unusual, just like the Altean prince. The silence lasted a full two tecks before…

"I propositioned with Nyma."

At first, the words didn't register to Keithek's mind. But when they did, Keithek blinked. He wasn't sure how much time had passed or how he ended up where he did. All he knew was that he wasn't sitting on the floor anymore. He was pinning Lance to the dashboard with his jaws clamped down on his Mark, headless of the hands frantically trying to push him away. He could feel his mate's body tense under him, the terrified fluttering of the pulse under his tongue, and every kick in Lance's useless attempts to find traction on the floor of the pod.

Instantly, he released his grip and stumbled back from Lance, staring at his hands in incomprehension. The Altean's chest was heaving and one hand was clapped over the aching Mark on his shoulder. His two blue eyes, one organic and one mechanical, locked on Keithek's retreating form in fear.

"I-I'm sorry I…" Keithek gulped on his suddenly dry throat and gasped. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what happened. I-"

Keithek dug through his mind, searching for a memory of the events that transpired. All he could remember was feeling a raging fury the likes of which he could only remember feeling when he saw Sendak crush Lance's eye as well as a possessiveness that he'd never experienced before. Both emotions were aimed solely on Lance. His mate.

By the cosmos.

"My alpha side…" he gasped in dawning realization. "I must have… Lance, I'm so sorry," he said, stepping towards the prince.

Lance's eyes widened and he scrambled away from Keithek, pulling his legs up to make himself a smaller target. The mechanical iris of the prince's cybernetic eye narrowed, and something flashed across the surface. For a tick, Keithek would have sworn it was a targeting display. That chilled his blood like little else could, stilling him in his tracks.

"Lance-"

"What is wrong with you?" Lance hissed. "You rejected me first."

"I never rejected you," Keithek said.

"You acted like it!" Lance snapped. "What was I supposed to think when you left me like that? You wouldn't even _look_ at me until you came back. It was like you completely ignored my existence. How did you expect me to react? Sit back and wait for my ever loyal alpha to return? Pine for you and wonder what I'd done to displease you? Fall on my knees and submit myself wholly to you in the hopes you and your alpha instincts would accept me and take me back into your arms and bed?" Lance sneered. "What do you think I am? A sex addicted omega?"

"That's not true," Keithek said in horrified anger.

"You're right, because a true Galran omega would never go that far," Lance agreed. "They at least have enough pride to demand their mate speak to them."

"I'm trying to do that now," Keithek yelled in exasperation.

"Then _shut up!"_ Lance shouted. "You aren't my mate. You never were. You may have put your Mark on me but you did so without my knowledge or permission. You may see me as your mate, but you never even gave me the luxury of even choosing to accept or reject you. I am sick and _tired_ of my choices being _taken_ from me!"

"I only flirted with you on that Galran battlecruiser because I saw you as a means to an end," Lance hissed. "You were my ticket out of there. I knew about the Galra classes. It was only a matter of trial and error to figure out where you fell. When I realized you were an alpha, it was easy." The prince grinned, all teeth and no sympathy. "All I had to do was bare my throat a couple times, appear to back down to your dominance, and tease your body. The fact that you were a halfbreed just made it that much easier. It was too easy. _You_ are too easy, Keithek."

Keithek flinched.

"I knew if I could somehow convince you I was at least remotely interested in you, you were that much more likely to do what I wanted you to," Lance said, pushing himself up from the floor so he stood. "Once I got out, I was going to _kill_ you."

Keithek paled, fighting the urge to retreat from his mate. There was nowhere else for him to go. The metal wall at the back of the pod was directly behind him.

"But then you caught my interest," Lance continued, stepping into the back compartment when Keithek stood. "I thought, what harm was there with taking you with me. I already had you dancing in the palm of my hand. Why not see how far you'd go for me?"

The prince's smile vanished and Keithek wished he was anywhere else but in here.

"Then you Marked me," Lance said softly, advancing another step.

Keithek pressed back against the wall behind him, wanting badly to flee from Lance's fury.

"You took away my right to choose," Lance said, almost casually as he stepped forward again so he stood directly in front of Keithek. "You're lucky I came to at least see you as a lover. You may see me as your mate, Keithek."

Keithek flinched at his full name spat like a curse from his mate's mouth.

"But you are no life partner of mine," Lance finished.

Something cold settled in Keithek's stomach. It wasn't the familiar chill he'd grown used to feeling from Lance. This was a different kind of cold. It had a finality to it that filled the red paladin with the beginnings of horror. To counteract this new sensation, the Red Lion purred in his mind, consuming the frigid seed in seething flames. The pulse of heat cleared Keithek's mind, allowing him to notice what he'd missed before.

The entire inside of the pod was frosted over. The floor, the walls, the seats, even the view screens were covered in a thin layer of icy frost. The red paladin stared at his furious mate in awe. Lance was venting more than just his temper it seemed. Judging from the state of his ma- the state of the prince, Keithek doubted Lance was even aware of what he'd done.

He wanted to leave. The alpha instincts inside of him were not insisting he stay. In fact, they were screaming at him to leave. _Get out. Get out now!_ That had never happened before and he wasn't sure how to take the sudden change. It was confusing him.

Even if he agreed with the sentiment whole-heartedly.

The sound of machinery whirring followed by the pod door sliding open startled the two paladins. Two pairs of eyes, one mismatched blue and the other violet and yellow, turned and stared at the green paladin. Pidge stood almost exactly where she'd stood before she'd locked them in the pod and turned off the systems. Only this time, she wasn't smiling. Keithek would bet Pidge's expression was probably a close match for his own at the moment.

Her mouth hung open, working to form words that wouldn't come out. Lance beat her to it.

"What are you waiting for, Keithek?" the prince asked softly. In any other circumstances, Keithek would've found that tone seductive. But not now. Now, it was chilling. "Run along. That is what you want to do, isn't it?" Lance asked. "Run?"

Keithek looked back at his m- Lance. There was no feeling in those eyes, not even the organic eye. Just cold detachment, like a scientist observing a specimen. Keithek stumbled out of the pod, unable to break the prince's gaze.

"Pidge, tell your mother I apologize, but I have to get back to the Castle," Lance said in a conversation tone. "There's no need for me to stay anyway. Is there?"

The question was directed at Keithek, but he couldn't find his voice to answer. Lance waited three ticks before, closing the pod door separating himself from Pidge and Keithek. The paladins watched as the Altean pod powered up and lifted off from the parking deck before turning towards the sky and cloaking, vanishing from sight.

The cold in Keithek's gut grew into a solid stone that weighed him down. He never noticed when he fell to his knees. He could only stare at the empty space where the pod carrying Lance had been ticks before.


	73. PART 3 - 73: Coral

**A/N:** Sorry for not updating last night. I literally fell asleep while typing, then I had work most of the day today, then my parents came to go to the holiday market, then I had the chance to sit down and finish writing this.

This is a primarily sad chapter because...it had to be. Btw, I enjoyed reading y'all's reactions to Lance's eruption last chapter. It was great to read so many POVs. I love it. ^_^ **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which the Red Lion isn't happy, Shiro has an idea, and Pidge feels horrible. **  
**

* * *

 **73: Coral - protection from evil, increases imagination, good for depression**

The Castle rocked violently throwing Shiro against the wall. A deafening alarm blared through the corridor forcing him to clap his hands over his ears as he attempted to orient himself to the madness. When he finally managed to regain his footing, he turned to see Coran racing back to the lift. Together they rode up to the bridge, hoping to find an explanation for the alarm. The Castle continued to shudder and deep, vibrating thuds echoed through the metal.

"What in the world is going on?" Shiro cried when he and Coran made it to the bridge.

The princess was already there, frantically examining the readouts and alerts from the Castle. "It's the Red Lion," she said in clipped, worried tones. "It's attacking its hanger door."

"What?" Shiro gasped.

"Why would it do that?" Coran said, rushing to Allura's side to read the Altean lettering. "Good gracious. It'll break a hole in the door if it doesn't stop."

Allura pressed her lips together grimly. "I'm opening the Red Lion's hanger door," she declared, inputting the appropriate remote command. "It's possible the red paladin is in trouble. That's the only thing I can come up with that would explain this. But still," she muttered, watching the indicator light flash that the Red Lion's hanger door was opening, "I've never seen the Red Lion react so strongly before."

"We have to contact Pidge," Shiro said, placing a hand on Allura's arm to grab her attention. "We need to know what happened to Keith. If something happened to them, then we need to get them out of there ASAP."

"I have no idea what 'ASAP' means, but assuming it means 'quickly,' so I agree," the princess said.

"Basically, yeah," Shiro said.

When the hanger door opened, everyone looked up to the large view screens that covered the walls of the bridge in awe. The Red Lion in all its furious beauty leapt into view, blazing through the sky. Aftera tick or two, it vanished in a slipstream.

"The Red Lion doesn't have cloaking capabilities," Coran said. "If it goes straight to Earth-"

"It'll be seen," Shiro said, nodding. "We need to notify Pidge."

"I'll take care of that," Coran said, hurrying to the control panels at the front of the deck. "Princess, you keep tracking the Red Lion. What's the status of the other Lions?"

"They're calm for now," Allura said, studying the readouts for the other Lions. "But…" She had to look closer at the Blue Lion's reading. "The Blue Lion seems to be…" She blinked and tried to process what she was seeing.

"Seems to be what?" Shiro asked. "Is it alright?"

"Y-yes, it's fine," Allura said, her brow furrowed in thought. "Did you make any headway with Sendak's memory core?" she asked suddenly.

The black paladin blinked at the sudden change of topic, but quickly shook his head. "I didn't have the chance to do much before the alarms started blaring," he admitted.

"Try again," Allura said. "If this is another malfunction, we need to know. Coran, where are you with contacting the paladins?"

"Nothing yet," the advisor said. "I'll keep at it."

"Good. Shiro, go see what you can get from Sendak," Allura commanded. "Let me know if you hear anything useful."

"Yes ma'am," the black paladin said with a salute.

Shiro didn't wait for a response. He ran back to the lift and rode down to where the prison pods were located. It was darker down here to save power. Sendak's prison pod was lit as were a few lights along the walls leading to the Galra's pod, but otherwise it was dark. Had the dim lighting been a maroon and not the soft turquoise it was, Shiro would have felt uncomfortable. As it was, he simply felt alert and wary.

The purple skinned Galra commander stood in the prison pod, dead in almost every way. The cryopod held the commander in a stasis, teetering on the edge of death but never quite able to cross over. The memory core tube erected next to Sendak's pod glowed with strands of purple light leading to orbs of light that dimmed and brightened in a rhythm. It reminded Shiro of fireflies, perverted fireflies.

"I know you're in there," he said, raising his gaze to stare at Sendak's closed eyes. "I know you can hear me."

Silence.

Shiro narrowed his eyes. "What is going on here?" he demanded sternly, crossing his arms over his chest. "There's no way you can't know what's going on. Tell me."

Again, silence.

"Are you doing this?" Shiro growled. "Are you the one behind these malfunctions?"

There was the slightest twitch in the purple stands of light that didn't go unnoticed by the black paladin. "So you are in there," he said, a dark grin spreading across his face. "Tell me, what do you know about what's happening in this ship?"

 _"What makes you think, I'm the one responsible?"_

Shiro stiffened, dropping to a defensive position and staring at the ceiling in horror. How…? He turned his wide eyed gaze back to the prisoner's sleeping form and forced himself to relax.

"Why wouldn't it be you?" Shiro asked carefully. "You have plenty of reasons to want us dead."

This time, the response over the Castle's speakers did not startle him. It was a deep throated laughter that almost sounded like purring. _"True enough,"_ Sendak's memory said. _"But if I was the one responsible, I would have killed you. Not inconvenienced you."_

That…made sense. Even if the thought made the black paladin endlessly uncomfortable, Shiro knew Sendak wouldn't have wasted his time with toying with them. The Galra would have gotten rid of them as soon as he'd been able to do so.

"Then what happened to the Red Lion?" Shiro asked. "Why did it go haywire?"

 _"You ask like I have any control over those infernal beasts,"_ Sendak's voice said. _"That is your responsibility. A responsibility which you are clearly failing at."_

Shiro ignored the insult. "If you're aware enough to talk like that, then maybe we can move on to other subjects," he said, glaring hard at Sendak's unresponsive body. "Like where you found the Red Lion."

 _"Such a base question."_

Shiro's jaw tightened. Fine. If Sendak was going to play that game, then "What is Zarkon's greatest weakness?"

 _"Now we get to the core of the matter,"_ Sendak's voice purred.

"Answer the question."

 _"You're assuming he has a weakness."_

"Everyone has a weakness," Shiro said, his head tilting downwards.

 _"Zarkon has none."_

 _"Everyone_ has a weakness," Shiro reiterated.

 _"Even if, by some miracle, he did have a weakness,"_ Sendak's memory said, _"what makes you think you could possibly defeat him?"_

"All empires fall eventually," Shiro said. "History proves that often enough. Even empires that were thought to be immortal, armies thought to be undefeatable, nothing lasts forever."

 _"Zarkon does."_

Shiro grimaced, then paused. "Zarkon is immortal," he whispered.

In every book, every myth, every legend, every tale Shiro had ever heard from childhood to adulthood, immortality was never free. It always came with a price of some sort. Vampires drank blood to survive, Tithonus from Greek mythology would live forever but continue to age, the list went on. If Zarkon was immortal, then there had to be some price he was paying to do so.

Allura, Coran, and Lance had all been surprised when they found out Zarkon was still alive. That meant he hadn't original been immortal. Something must have happened. Something must have changed. If Shiro could figure out what the Galran emperor had discovered that gave him such a long life, then they could focus on that. If it was a substance, then they could cut off Zarkon's access to it.

If it was a substance, Shiro suspected Zarkon had been using it long enough to be addicted to it. If his team could figure out what was giving Zarkon his immortality, they could make the emperor's life a living hell. He grinned and lifted his eyes to Sendak's body.

"For now," he said.

There was response.

* * *

"He did what now?"

"Hush you idiot!" Pidge hissed, holding a finger to her mouth and pulling the yellow paladin further away from the bed by the far wall of the hotel room and closer to the bathroom. "I said I think Lance dumped Keith."

"Yeah, that's what I thought you said," Hunk murmured, face slack in shock. "I thought they were doing fine together."

"Yeah well, apparently not as well as we thought," Pidge grumbled. "Not even as well as Keith thought apparently."

Her gaze softened when she looked at the red paladin laying unresponsive on the far bed. It had taken some effort to snap Keith out of his funk enough to get him up the hotel elevator and into their room. But he hadn't spoken a word. He hadn't even made a sound since Lance all but dismissed him and returned to the Castle. He just lay there on the bed on top of the covers staring blankly at the curtained window.

Pidge's mom sat with him now. For some reason Pidge didn't understand, her mom had taken a liking to Keith. Secretly, Pidge was willing to bet her bank account it was the ears. Those fluffy, twitchy ears would win the Internet if it ever got a wound up on there. If Keith wasn't so depressed right now, Pidge would probably record a short video and upload it to Readit and Tumblr and watch it take flight.

But she wasn't so cruel as to do it now, not with the way Keith looked. The only time Pidge could remember seeing Keith distraught was when they found Lance after Sendak ripped out his eye. Except this time, it was worse, so much worse. Keith's skin was paler than normal, his eyes were dull and glassy, and tears dripped steadily down his cheeks. If it weren't for that and the steadily rise and fall of Keith's chest, Pidge would have thought the red paladin was dead.

When she'd pushed Lance into the pod and locked the him in there with Keith, she hadn't meant any harm. She just wanted them to talk. It was painfully obvious to her and Hunk that something had happened to drive a wedge between the two paladins. All she'd wanted was to get them to sit their butts down and talk things out. She hadn't expected…this.

She gnawed her thumbnail nervously. "I locked them in the pod," she admitted to her friend.

Hunk blinked then whipped his head around to stare at her in shock. "You did what?" he cried. He immediately shrank under the glare Pidge's mom shot him. "You did what?" he repeated in an emphatic whisper. "Pidge, that is not something you just do to people."

"They needed to talk," she argued. "That was the best way."

"Not it isn't." Hunk said seriously. "Believe it or not, locking two people in a closet or whatever just to get them to talk is probably the worst decision. They rarely end up talking things out. In fact, speaking from personal experience here, it usually ends up doing the exact opposite."

The green paladin's form slumped in defeat. "Don't I know it," she muttered.

Hunk hesitated, studying his friend closely. "Pidge," he said slowly, "what happened?"

Pidge licked her lips and looked up at the yellow paladin. "I listened in on them," she said. "I had to know when they were done talking, didn't I?" she said, when Hunk gave her a flat stare. "If they actually talked it out, I was going to let them back inside."

"Pidge-"

"I know it wasn't right, OK?" Pidge hissed, looking away. Her gaze settled on Keith's form on the bed and she drooped. "I know," she said again in a softer voice. "But I'm glad I did. If I'd left them in there any longer I… This would've been a lot worse."

Hunk's forehead creased in confusion. "Why?" he asked. "What did they talk about?"

"Lance did most of the talking," the green paladin said. "I knew he had a temper. I mean, we both heard him and Allura arguing, so…" She shrugged. "But this…" She shook her head. "This was just vicious." Her brown eyes locked on Keith's form. "The things he said… Hunk, I've never heard anyone say things like that except in movies. I didn't think people actually talked that way."

"What'd he say?" Hunk said gently but firmly.

Pidge gulped and looked up at her friend. "He basically said Keith didn't mean anything to him," she said. "He said he only flirted with Keith to get him to do what he wanted. That part I kind of understand," she said, rolling her shoulders uncomfortably, "Considering how they met, and all. But then he said he was originally planning on killing Keith when he did escape. He only decided to bring Keith along because he was interesting."

Hunk's gaze saddened as Pidge spoke. She had to look away or lose her resolve. "Lance said he didn't love Keith and that he didn't see him as a mate," she said. "Hunk? I didn't… It wasn't my fault he said that, was it?" she asked in a small voice.

The yellow paladin blinked, dumbfounded by the question. "Why would it be your fault?" he demanded.

Pidge shrugged awkwardly. "I was the one who locked them in the pod together," she said. "Lance wouldn't have said those things if I hadn-"

"You don't know that," Hunk said firmly.

When Pidge looked back at her friend, the yellow paladin's face was fierce.

"Lance said those things, not you," he said seriously. "You may have set the stage," Pidge winced, "but I get the feeling this has been building for a while," Hunk finished with a sigh. "Fights like what you're talking about are usually the result of a lot of pent up emotions."

Pidge nodded. The guilt hadn't gone away, but it wasn't as sharp as it had been. "Will he be alright?" she asked hopefully.

Hunk shook his head. "I-I don't know," he said.

"Mom?" Pidge said louder, walking slowly over to the hotel bed. "Is there anything I can do?" she asked, crawling onto the bed so she knelt behind Keith and facing her mother.

Mrs. Holt tucked her hair behind the device hooked to her ear and sighed heavily. "I don't know," she said truthfully. "I couldn't hear all of what you two were talking about, but…" She hummed, her fingers brushing one of Keith's ears as they ran through his black hair. "Right now, all we can do is stay by his side and support him," she said.

The green paladin dropped her eyes to the red paladin's still form and eased herself down to the bed, scooting up to Keith's back. She hesitated before snuggling up to the red paladin's back, noticing the way the fluffy ears twitched slightly.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, tears forming in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said again, fighting back sobs. "I'm sorry, Keith. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

She squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face in Keith's shirt, crying softly. She felt her mom start to brush her hair too. It may not have been her fault Keith and Lance had a fight, but she certainly felt like she'd helped set it up. It was a horrible feeling that ate at her. She teased and tormented her friends, but she never meant to hurt them. They were her friends.

She hadn't had many friends until she got to the Garrison and got Hunk for a roommate. They hadn't become friends right away, despite the yellow paladin's best efforts. It had taken a mishap in applied physics to get them to bond. She couldn't even bring herself to laugh at the unintended pun.

"Mom?" she said, her voice muffled in Keith's shirt. When she didn't get a response, she leaned back just far enough to free her voice and said, "Mom?"

Mrs. Holt hummed a response.

"It feels like when Matt and Dad and Shiro left again," she said, doing her best to enunciate clearly around her sobs so her mother could understand her.

Mrs. Holt's face broke, revealing an intense wave of emotion she hadn't intended to show. She quickly fixed it, taking a deep breath and schooling her expression to one of sadness and motherly concern.

"I know, honey," she said, offering her daughter a weak smile. "I know."

"This may sound weird," Hunk said suddenly, sitting on the bed behind Pidge, "but I kind of want to hear Commander Iverson yelling at us again." He chuckled weakly. "I could always keep myself in control when he would yell at us."

"You cried like a baby," Pidge said, huffing a laugh, or was it a sob?

"When we got back to the dorm room, yeah I did," Hunk agreed. "But not when the commander was yelling at us. Then, I could just, sort of, tune it out and go to my happy place." His half-hearted happiness crumbled. "I wish I could do that now," he said, hanging his head.

* * *

Mrs. Holt reached out and wrapped her arm around Hunk's shoulder, pulling him close. She was ready when the boy began crying by her ear, rocking him gently as she continued to caress her daughter and the purple boy, Keith, with her other hand. Her heart went out to them. She didn't know what had happened to cause the abrupt change in mood from earlier that night. But whatever it was, she hoped it wasn't too serious. She finally had her daughter back and knew Hunk Palakiko was safe and Shiro was alive. All that was left was finding her son Matt and her husband.

These children were too young to be caught up in whatever mess they were involved in. She didn't know how old Keith was, but it didn't matter. He was too young. She wasn't equipped to handle this.

She especially wasn't equipped to handle the fiery blaze streaking through the sky directly at her.


	74. PART 3 - 74: Flourite

**A/N:** This may not be what y'all expected but eh... Such is how this series seems intent on going. Hope y'all enjoy~ **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Lance comes face-to-face with his mistake, Coran tries to be a good mentor, and Sendak has a visitor. **  
**

* * *

 **74: Flourite - comprehension, aids in stabilizing and calming emotions, very focusing  
**

It was killing him. The slow burning fire hovering just beneath the surface that had fueled his anger just tecks before was fading fast, draining him of his energy. He felt horrible. What he said was the truth, but not in the way he formulated-

Fracking frell.

Lance had lost his temper and lashed out at Keith over something that was trivial in the grand scheme of things. He _knew_ Keith would have a hard time accepting the news of his sterility. That was why he was waiting for the right time to tell him. He wanted to be ready to explain, to have _time_ to explain, to soothe Keith's undoubtedly ruffled nerves.

He _knew_ Keith wasn't abandoning him when he left without saying a word, or even looking at him.

Didn't he?

Lance swallowed thickly and looked down at the dashboard, trying to muddle his way through his tangled thoughts. The pod was hovering in orbit over one of the gas giants in this solar system cloaked and running on silent. He lifted his gaze and took in the vibrant reds and yellows of the enormous planet. The giant, swirling red storm just below the planet's equator was the perfect equivalent to his thoughts and emotions at the moment.

He knew he'd made a mistake. There was no denying that. Keith had come to apologize and Lance had thrown that apology and so much more in the red paladin's face in his fury. Lance had a temper that matched his mother's in its explosiveness. He swept injustices, minor offenses, and annoyances under the rug until he couldn't control them. Then all it would take was one thing, something so small and seemingly insignificant to trigger and eruption.

But he could have sworn he was in control. He'd made a mistake yes, but it wasn't the end of the world. He gulped and heat flooded his face just as hot tears pooled in his eyes. He let out a breath that was more of a sob than a sigh and immediately slapped a hand over his mouth. Now wasn't the time or the place.

He froze, eyes widening. Quiznak it all, he was doing exactly what had caused this mess in the first place: bottle up his emotions. He was Altean for frell's sake. Alteans were known for _not_ hiding their emotions. He'd even gotten on Allura case for holding herself back not long ago. Yet here he was doing exactly what he'd warned Allura against. What a hypocrite he was.

He removing his hand from his mouth and let his fall to the dashboard as another wave of emotion crashed into him, then abruptly retreated leaving him cold and alone. Guilt gnawed at his conscience. He never meant to hurt Keith. Not like that.

He'd never wanted Keith to know what he'd been thinking when they first met. He'd never wanted Keith to know what he'd planned to do to him if he hadn't decided to take Keith with him as they escaped. He never wanted to tell Keith he didn't love him.

Even though it was true. Right?

Love wasn't something that was fleeting or founded in sensation and lust. It was something purer than that, driven by emotions and a connection that ran soul deep, twining and binding with each person's quintessence. Lance had been ready to open his heart to Keith. If only he'd known his heart was frozen shut.

Why? What had he lashed out like that? There was no reason for it. But the trigger…

Lance pressed his fingers against his still stinging throat. He felt something wet and warm there. Even though he knew what it was, he still had to see it to be sure. When he withdrew his fingers, he saw the familiar deep crimson of his blood covering his fingers, his shaking fingers.

He took a deep, wavering breath and shuddered. He could still feel sharp nails digging into his arm, flipping him around, and slamming him against the dashboard just as something ripped into his throat. But those eyes…

Lance pressed his fingers back against his wound and shrank in on himself at the memory. The look in Keith's eyes was dangerous. They glowed in the dim light of the pod viciously. There was no life in those eyes; no kindness, no adoration, no sadness, no fear, nothing but hatred and fury. For a moment, Keith was gone and only a Galra remained.

 _"I like those eyes of yours."_

Lance stiffened as something like a claw closed over his heart and squeezed. He couldn't breathe. This wasn't real. Hateful gold and violet, that was real, real and petrifying.

 _"Did you enjoy it?"_

Lance shuddered violently and curled into a ball in his seat, whimpering. He clamped his hands over his ears to drown out the accursed voice even though he knew there was nothing he could do to stop it. The voice was in his head, embedded in his memory, never to be forgotten.

Tears fell from his closed eyes as Sendak's voice echoed in his head, matched with the deranged look in Keith's eyes when the red paladin attacked him. He was having a panic attack. He had to control himself. He couldn't fall apart. Distraction. He needed a distraction. Something. _Anything_ to distract his mind enough to stop it from spiraling into a panicked mess.

His eyes skipped around the interior of the pod, settling on something on the co-pilot's seat next to him. It was a portable tablet and what looked like a memory crystal. Lance didn't know what was on it, nor did he care. He just needed something to obsess over to drown out his roiling emotions.

He snatched the crystal, turning it in his hands until he found the side that should be inserted first. The pod had a slot for memory crystals since it was a common method of transferring data directly and efficiently. Without thinking through what he was doing, Lance tried to push the crystal into the slot. It took a few tries because his fingers were shaking so badly.

A moment later, the main view screen of the pod lit up revealing data readouts and images in quick succession depicting the results of what appeared to be a diagnostic check. On closer inspection, Lance realized this was the results of Coran's full-systems diagnostic of the Castle of Lions. Keith had been bringing it back to him.

Before yet another wave of emotions he was not ready nor equipped to deal with smashed him back into the whirlpool of panic, Lance focused on the readouts. Based on what he was seeing, the Castle began to experience problems slowly ever since Sendak had installed his Galra crystal into the Castle's main computer. The corrupted quintessence inside the Galra crystal was perverting the quintessence of the Castle much like a virus. The Castle was fighting back, attempting to quarantine the distorted quintessence in an area that didn't control vital systems like the life support or engines.

In that, the Castle's quintessence had succeeded for now. But the distorted quintessence was seeping out of the quarantine and causing malfunctions in more and more major systems. If left to its own devices, the distorted quintessence would eventually gain control of the life support system or the navigational and engine control systems. All it would take was a remnant of Allura's quintessence still lingering in the Castle's for the distorted quintessence to force open a wormhole to who-knows-where.

Coran was probably already aware of this issue, but maybe not. The advisor had a lot to worry about at the moment. Lance was certain that Coran was currently doing his best to aid the Castle's quintessence in the fight against the perversion from the Galra crystal. There had to be a way to deal with this in a more efficient manner.

Sendak would know.

Lance balked instinctively at the thought. However true it was, it left a bad taste in his mouth. He knew Sendak's memory core was filling but even if it was full, especially if it was full, Lance didn't know if he could take being in Sendak's presence long enough to ask the questions he needed answered.

He would-

A beeping tone startled Lance out of his thoughts. He blinked in confusion and scanned the dashboard for the tone's source. It was an incoming message from the Castle. Hesitantly, he opened a channel.

"This is Lance," he said. "A-Katie, is that you?"

He almost slipped up and called his sister by her real name. The Galra may not be in this part of the universe yet, but that didn't mean they didn't have informants and spies here reporting what they saw and heard.

 _"It's Coran,"_ the advisor said, appearing in front of the prince on the right view screen.

The moment Coran's face appeared, Lance looked at it. The advisor's reaction was almost instantaneous. The advisor's expression morphed into one of horror and concern.

 _"Lance,"_ he said. _"By the Lions, you look awful. What happened?"_

Lance took a deep breath and gave a small shake of his head. "I'm fine," he said. "I brought it on myself." He swallowed around the lump in his throat, fighting back the returning onslaught of emotions. "Keith got the worst of it."

 _"What happened?"_ Coran demanded again. _"Lance, you need to tell me. Were you attacked? Did someo-"_

"No, nothing like that," the prince said, running a still shaking hand through his hair. "I…" His mouth worked as he tried to form words. He gave a shaky sigh of defeat. "I think I've made a huge mistake, Coran," he confessed reluctantly. "It's my fault." He gulped and looked down.

 _"Does it involve the red paladin?"_ Coran asked astutely.

Lance tensed and looked up at the advisor in cautious surprise. "Yes," he said slowly. "How did you-"

 _"The Red Lion began acting up,"_ the advisor said, looking away from the screen to something on his end of the transmission. _"It tried to get out of its hanger."_

"Without its paladin?" Lance gasped, narrowing his eyes in shock. "It activated on its own?"

The Lions were known to act of their own accord on rare occasions, but usually only if something had happened to their paladins. Lance paled.

"Coran," he said urgently. "The Red Lion. When did it activate?"

 _"About half a tock ago,"_ the advisor said.

"And where is it now?" Lance demanded. "Is it still in its hanger or did it-"

 _"Allura freed it,"_ Coran said, his red eyebrows dropping low over his eyes as he spoke. _"Lance,"_ he said carefully, _"what aren't you telling me?"_

"I think…" The prince took a deep breath. "I think its fault."

 _"What happened, Lance?"_ Coran said sternly. _"You need to tell me."_

Lance closed his eyes and ducked his head in shame. "I… I lashed out at Keith," he admitted. "I shouldn't have. I didn't mean to. He… He tried to apologize to me and I didn't know how to respond. I…" He gulped. "I confessed something to him. Something I'd done in the heat of hurt and fear. It- Had we still been Altea, what I did would have been acceptable, but I forgot-" He groaned and hung his head. "I forgot Altea was gone. I forgot Keith was a Galra. I forgot…everything. I just wanted to confess my mistake but he…"

His hand reached up to his bleeding Mark with a wince. "It was my fault," Lance whispered. "I made him… His eyes. Those eyes. They weren't normal. That wasn't Keith. It wasn't Keith. It _wasn't!_ It wasn't Keith, but it was Keith's face."

 _"Lance,"_ Coran said in a firm voice, jolting the prince out of his dark mutterings. "Tell me what happened right now."

"Keith- I lashed out at Keith," he said after a teck. "It was my fault. I told him I didn't care for him when we met. That I was just using him. That I was going to kill him." Lance tried to edit his words, but once they began the words couldn't stop coming. It was as if a dam broke flooding the advisor with words. "I said I only let him live because he interested me. I told him I didn't see him as a mate and that I don't love him. It was the truth but it wasn't supposed to be _said._ Keith wasn't supposed to _know_ how I felt. I think I…"

 _"You knew he wouldn't be able to resist his mate."_

He curled back up in shame and guilt. "I think I rejected him," he whispered in dawning horror. "Oh Lions. Coran, I think I rejected Keith." Renewed tears began slipping down his cheeks as the enormity of what he'd crushed him beneath its weight.

 _"You knew exactly what you were doing, didn't you Altean?"_

"What do I do?" he murmured. "I didn't mean to hurt him. I mean, I- I did when I was angry," he corrected. "I was hurting and scared so I wanted him to feel the same thing so I didn't spare any sympathy or watch my words." He shuddered. "I rejected him. What have I done? Coran, what have I done?" He buried his face in his folded arms and bent legs and wept. "I'm sorry," he whispered brokenly. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't- I'm sorry. Oh Lions, I'm sorry."

 _"Did you enjoy it?"_

* * *

Coran could only watch as the prince wept unable to do anything but watch. His heart went out to both the prince and Keith. He wasn't sure he knew the entire story, but he could piece together a rough idea from what Lance had told him before breaking down. Lance's temper was nothing to scoff at. He had a temper that often led him to saying or doing things he regretted later.

There was nothing Coran could do in this situation. Lance had gotten himself into this mess. And though the advisor suspected the prince wasn't the only guilty party here, Lance had still done something that he would regret. Whatever it was, it had affected the red paladin deeply enough for the Red Lion to react from even this distance.

"The Red Lion is on its way to Earth," Coran said. He wasn't sure if Lance could hear him, but he spoke anyway. "It doesn't have the cloaking upgrades that the Green Lion has so it won't be able to go undetected by the Human's defenses." He sighed. "Let's hope they don't treat the Red Lion as a threat."

Lance was still curled tightly in the pilot's seat and sobbing. Coran looked back over his shoulder to be sure they were alone before speaking again.

"Come back to the Castle, Lance," he said. "Let's talk about this in person." Lance shook his head. "You need to talk to someone," Coran insisted. "You'll hurt yourself if you don't. If not me then your father, Allura, _someone."_

The prince lifted his head and leaned back against the seat staring at the video message with dully, bloodshot eyes. _"Alright,"_ he said in a voice that sounded utterly demolished. _"Just… Let me dock the pod and come in alone. I don't… I'm not ready to see my sister yet."_

Disappointed, the advisor nodded. "I understand," he said gently. "I'll open the pod hanger and keep Allura and Shiro busy."

 _"Katie."_

"I beg your pardon?"

 _"Allura's dead, Coran,"_ Lance said in a voice as dead as the imagined princess. _"Katie is alive. Allura is dead."_

Without another word, Lance cut the communication. Coran blinked and sighed. This was not what he'd been expecting when he woke up.

"Coran!"

Startled, the advisor turned back to the entrance to the bridge. "Shiro?" he called, recognizing the black paladin. "What are doing here? I thought you were interrogating Sendak."

"I was," Shiro said, hurrying across the floor to Coran. "Where's Allura?" he asked, noticing the princess's absence.

"Speaking with her father," the advisor said. "She wanted to know if anything like this has ever happened before."

The black paladin nodded grimly. "I have a question," he said, changing the subject. "Do you know of anything that could make someone effectively immortal?"

The advisory blinked in confusion, then laughed in disbelief. "There is no such thing," he said. "Immortality is a myth, Shiro. People can love long lives, but no one is immortal."

"Yeah, well tell that to Sendak," Shiro grumbled.

"Excuse me?"

"Sendak believes Zarkon is immortal or close to it," the black paladin explained. "He also believes Zarkon has no weaknesses. He's alive so by definition he has a weakness. Nothing is perfect. There's always a flaw somewhere."

"Yes," Coran hedged. "What are alluding to?"

"I think Zarkon's weakness _is_ his immortality," Shiro said seriously. "Think about it: he has to do something, use something to keep him alive. If we can figure out what he's using for…fuel or whatever, then we can cut him off. It would be like cutting off an addict from their drug of choice."

Coran considered the theory carefully. "That is certainly an idea," he said. "Come with me. Let's go through some of the archives. Maybe we'll find something useful, hm?"

As they left the bridge for the crystal chamber for the memory crystals, neither noticed a pod materialize in the pod hanger or Lance get out and head for the lift.

* * *

It was quiet and dark down here. It brought back memories he didn't want to think about let alone bring back to the forefront. His footfalls echoed through the corridor eerily before pausing in front of the only occupied prison pod.

 _"Still alive, I see."_

"For now," Lance answered. His face a dry but his cheeks and one organic was red with the tell-tale signs of crying. "We need to talk."


	75. PART 3 - 75: Kyanite

**A/N:** And so it begins: the madness. Also, 75 chapters? What? ...how? **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Lance 'talks' with Sendak, Janice sees a giant lion, and Lance discovers something that should not exist. **  
**

* * *

 **75: Kyanite - protects against psychic attacks**

 _"I like the addition. Don't bionics improve things?"_

Lance did his best to keep his hands at his side and his gaze forward, however much he wanted to touch his scar and look away. He was here for a reason. He had to see this through.

"You know about the malfunctions in the Castle of Lions," he said in a voice that was steadier than his nerves. "Are you behind them?"

Laughter met his ears that was at odds with the deceptively peaceful expression on Sendak's unconscious face inside the prison pod.

 _"You're all malfunctions,"_ the Galra commander said simply. _"You'll have to be more specific."_

"Did you know what would happen when you hooked up your control crystal to the Castle's power array?" Lance asked, adjusting his stance so his feet rested aligned with his shoulders. He clasped his left wrist in his right hand behind his back to prevent fidgeting and stared directly into Sendak's closed eyes. "Did you know what it would do to the Castle's quintessence?"

 _"Quintessence?"_ The commander's voice was parroted the word back to the prince with the hint of disbelief. _"I'm a soldier of the Galra Empire, not a Druid. Quintessence manipulation is their area of expertise."_

"So you were unaware," Lance said.

 _"On the contrary. I am aware. I'm just surprised you are."_

"I live here. I have to be aware of my surroundings."

 _"Ah, but it's more than that, isn't it?"_

The prince fault the urge to tense, although he did tilt his down ever so slightly.

 _"The way you hold yourself now is military."_

He kept his breathing soft and steady.

 _"But I've seen you at your lowest."_ A low laugh. _"Your screams still fill my mind."_

The only outward show of distress Lance allowed himself to give was the slight narrowing of his eyes. "I'm sure they do," he said. "I wouldn't be surprised if your perverted mind worked that way. But that still leaves me wondering. You were aware of the affect your crystal would have on the Castle in the long term. But the Castle should have been able to quarantine and eradicate the foreign quintessence. It hasn't. In fact, its bee neatly avoiding the Castle's defenses with almost sentient accuracy. It almost makes me wonder if someone was in control." He lifted an eyebrow.

Sendak's memory laughed. It was low and reverberating, sending sickening shudders up the prince's spine. _"I may have started it, little prince, but there's no need for me to finish it."_

"What do you mean by that?" Lance demanded.

 _"You're the Druid,"_ Sendak's memory taunted. _"You tell me."_

Lance fumed silently, clamping down on his emotions with the solid rigidity of ice.

 _"Why don't you ask your mate?"_ the commander drawled. _"I'm sure he's licking the palm of your hand like the despicable halfbreed he is."_

"Don't talk about Keith like that," Lance hissed in warning. "He's ten times better than you'll ever be."

 _"And yet he's still nothing to you despite his undoubtedly impressive attempts to rise to your expectations,"_ Sendak said.

That stung.

 _"Pity the one he's mated to is the lowest scum of the universe,"_ Sendak continued. _"You may not have killed your sister, but I know you watched your family die. I saw it in your eyes."_ A laugh. _"We're much more alike than you care to admit, little prince."_

"We're not."

 _"We are. Look at your reflection."_

Despite his best efforts, Lance couldn't help but notice his reflection in the commander's prison pod when he was told to. His cybernetic blue eye adjusted its focus at the same speed as his organic eye. The irony that both his and Sendak's right eyes were cybernetic did not go unnoticed by him. It disgusted him.

 _"I like your eyes."_

Lance flinched, immediately looking away from his reflection. Suddenly he felt like running. Was this what Keith had been feeling when Lance lashed out to him? Was this what caused the red paladin's eyes to widen as he backed himself into a corner. Was this was Lance had caused? Or was it worse.

He didn't say goodbye when he left but Sendak's laughter followed him like a curse.

* * *

To say Janice Holt was stunned was an extreme understatement. It took everything in her to not scream in fear when the building around her suddenly shuddered as if there was an earthquake at the same time there was a loud bang from outside. When she whipped her head around to stare out the hotel window, she did cry out.

Staring directly at her was a single, large yellow eye in a gigantic red head made of metal. Every instinct within her told her to run even as her mind scrambled to make sense of what she was seeing. What was this? A bad Transformers movie?

"Red!" Katie cried.

Jancie turned to her daughter in confusion.

"It's Red," Katie repeated. "Hunk, Red's here. We gotta get Keith out there."

"On it," Hunk said, nudging Janice out of the way so he could fit between the bed and the hotel room wall.

"What are you doing?" Janice said, her eyes constantly flicking between the children and the giant robot still sitting outside the window. "What is going on? What is that?"

"That's Red," Pidge said as if that answered everything.

"Red? Wha- Red what?" Janice demanded.

"The Red Lion," Hunk said, pulling the purple boy into his arms and sliding back out of the narrow space. "She's here for Keith. She probably felt his distress. They're like that."

"They? Janice asked. "They who?"

"The Lions," Katie said. "Look, Mom, it's okay. Red won't hurt us. Well," her eyes darkened angrily, "she might hurt Lance, but not us. As long as Keith's not kept from her or hurt, she won't cause any trouble."

"That's-" Janice stumbled over her words. "That's a robot lion," she settled with. "A giant robot lion."

"Oh believe me. That's not even the weirdest part," Hunk said, following Katie towards of the door leading to the hotel hallway.

"What? Where are you going?" Janice said, hurrying after her daughter. "You can't go out there."

"Yeah we do," Katie said, grabbing her mother's hand and pulling her along. "Red would only show up like this if it was important. She'll be able to take care of Keith better than we can."

"Katie Ann Holt, what in the name of all that is holy is going on here?" Janice demanded.

Hunk whistled. "Whoo, the middle name treatment," he said. "I'm so glad I'm not you right now."

Katie grimaced but didn't stop moving even as more and more people began pouring out of their hotel rooms and rushing for the elevators and stairs in their fear. She couldn't blame them but it did make it difficult to evacuate the building in the growing crowd. At least it was until-

"Alright people, move your goddamn smegs or so help me I will fucking crush every last one of you!" Katie, Janice's sweet, brilliant, genius daughter screamed.

"Katie!" Janice gasped in horror.

"Not now," Katie said.

The people, equally stunned by Katie's volume, language, and command also paused in their actions, for the most part anyway. Hunk used the opportunity to push his way through the crowd of people with Keith held firmly against his chest. His size and strength force anyone who didn't get out of his way aside rather efficiently though.

"Move, move, move, move," Hunk chanted with every step down the stairs.

Janice winced, reaching up to cover her ear when the echoing sounds in the stairwell made her cochlea start to ring. It was an unfortunate side effect of this brand but it was affordable and the price of hearing her family's voices was worth every penny. The ringing still hurt.

When they reached the main floor lobby, they were met by frantic hotel employees trying to heard the terrified guests out the back of the hotel away from the robot. Janice was tempted to follow them, but when her daughter continued to run towards the rotating front doors right behind Hunk she didn't hesitate to follow after them.

The biting cold of the late fall air nipped her face and unprotected hands but her eyes were too busy staring up at the giant robot in front of her. It was feline in shape and… A lion. It was a robotic lion just like the yellow robot lion she'd seen on those Internet videos.

"Oh my God," she whispered in awe. "It's real."

The Red Lion stepped back so its four paws weren't standing on any cars parked in metered parking spots on the street or any cars that screeched to a stop nearby. It lowered its enormous head so its metal snout was mere inches from Keith's unresponsive body in Hunk's arms. Neither Hunk or Katie flinched.

The Lion made a rumbling sound that reminded Janice of a cat's deep-throated meow and nudged Keith's form gently. The sight should have scared Janice silly but, for some reason, it didn't. The scene reminded her too much of a worried mother nudging an injured child.

"He had a fight with Lance," Katie said to the Lion. The Lion turned its head to Janice's daughter as if it could understand her. Maybe it could. "I think- I think Lance rejected him," Katie said quietly.

The Lion made a sound that made Janice clench her fist over her heart in sympathy.

"Do you want to take him back to the Castle?" Hunk asked.

The Lion turned back to Hunk and nodded slowly. Then it proceeded to open its mouth. Janice watched in awe as a ramp folded out of the Lion's lower jaw and Hunk stepped into the mouth without fear.

Sirens wailed and the sound of screeching wheels made Janice cover her sensitive ears as she spun around only to see flashing blue and red lights and police cars. This was too soon.

"Mom!" Katie cried instantly catching Janice's full attention. Katie's face was determined but there was a hint of disquiet at the sight of the police cars that arrived.

 _"This is the police,"_ an officer said over a loud speaker attached to a police car. _"Step away from the robot."_

The Red Lion amazingly did not move at the sudden rise in stimulation but Hunk looked unnerved and Katie was licking her lips nervously.

"Mom, I- I think I need to leave now," she said.

No. No, it was too soon.

"No," Janice said, shaking her head. "Come back. We can take care of your friend. It'll be okay, please."

"I'll be back though," Katie said quickly, her eyes flickering between her mother and the policemen. "Tell Hunk's mom that we're okay. We're fighting the bad guys, saving the universe, and being regular superheroes." She smiled. "We'll find Matt and Dad," she said proudly. "I promise."

"Katie?"

"Pidge," Katie corrected. "I- It's Pidge." She smiled awkwardly. "I love you mom."

"Wait," Janice pleaded. "Iverson. What about Iverson?"

"Wha-What about him?" Katie said in confusion.

 _"Repeat: this is the police. Step away from the robot or we will fire."_

"Iverson turned in the Galaxy Garrison for covering up the Kerberos mission and you two going missing," Janice said quickly. Katie and Hunk both gasped in shock. "Tell Shiro Iverson said he's proud of him."

Katie just blinked but Hunk nodded. "We will," the strong young man said with a nod. "Tell Iverson he was one heck of a teacher."

Janice swallowed her pain and nodded, stepping away from her child. "Y'all come back now, you hear?" she shouted. "And Katie, watch your language or you won't be sitting for a week."

Katie balked and Hunk snorted, just as the ramp folded up and the Red Lion closed its mouth, hiding the children from Janice's gaze. She wasn't ready to lose her daughter again. Tears filled her eyes, spilling over her cheeks. Then the Lion's mouth opened again and Katie reached out to her.

"Get in!" she shouted.

Janice hesitated only a moment before taking her daughters hand and jumping into the gaping, metal maw. The floor heaved up, sealing her inside a red lit mouth just as a hailstorm of bullets struck the outside of the Lion's mouth.

"Come on," Katie said, racing up the Lion's mouth towards where its throat should be. Instead, there was a large, circular form that pulsed with a red glow. This was not what Janice thought she'd ever experience. She followed her daughter at a slightly slower pace, stumbling when a force suddenly pushed her to the floor.

"Hunk!" Katie called through a hole at the top of a ladder at the back of the Lion's throat. "Where are we going?"

Janice climbed the ladder and crawled into the room above. Red lit displays filled what she recognized as a cockpit. Hunk had lain Keith down on the cockpit floor so he could hold onto something to keep his balance while still holding the unconscious boy steady as the room around them heaved.

"What is going on?" Janice gasped.

"Wha- Pidge! Why'd you bring your mom in here?" he shouted.

Janice winced at the uncomfortable shade of green that seeped into Hunk's face.

"Well I couldn't exactly leave her there with those cops," Katie exclaimed, grabbing a hold of the sole seat in the room. "She's my mom."

"Oh, yeah, didn't think of that," Hunk said. "Well she can't come to the Castle with us. What'll we do?"

"Iverson," Janice said suddenly, capturing the children's attention. "Take me to Iverson."

"Uh, yeah, I'd love to, but we don't know where he is," Hunk said sarcastically

"Respect your elders, young man," Janice said, pulling out her phone. She ignored the soft pop of Hunk's mouth slapping shut and her daughter's giggles. "I can call and ask," she said. "He's being protected by the WPA until the prosecutors can build a solid case against the Galaxy Garrison."

"WPA?" Hunk parroted.

"Whistleblower Protection Agency," Janice said, putting her phone to her ear to hear the familiar ring tone.

That's when she lifted her eyes to actually look at the images flying across the main view screen of the cockpit. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes grew wide, her phone slipping in her grip. Literally flying. They were flying through the sky. The movements she felt in the room mimicked the images in the view screen perfectly. They were flying. They were in a giant, flying cat head.

"We're in a giant, flying cat head," she said.

 _"What?"_ Iverson's voice said.

Jolted from her shock, Janice fumbled with her phone and said, "I'm in a lion," she said. "Katie and Hunk are with me. Where are you?"

 _"Janice, what are you talking about?"_

"Is that Commander Iverson?" Hunk said. "Hi Commander!" he shouted.

"Fuck you Commander!" Katie shouted.

"Katie Ann Holt!" Janice gasped. "Where on Earth did you learn that kind of language?"

"Right sorry," Katie said, rolling her eyes. "Quiznak you Commander!"

"I hope you're ready for a good mouth washing, young lady," Janice scolded.

 _"What in the Sam Hill is going on?"_

* * *

Lance walked down the corridor towards the lift that would take him to the ship's bridge. Lance was beginning to suspect that someone was behind the foreign quintessence's actions. Avoiding quarantines, adapting to the Castle's defenses at incredible speed, learning from previous attempts to avoid similar attempts to stop it. There were too many signs of intelligence for these malfunctions to be cause simply by perverted quintessence. He had to get to the bridge to run a few specific tests to be sure of his suspicions though.

He didn't expect to run into his sister on the way there though.

"Lance?" Allura gasped ins surprise. "What are you doing here? I thought you were down on Earth with the others." She looked behind her brother's shoulders curiously. "Where are Hunk, Pidge, and Keith?"

Lance winced at the red paladin's name. "They're still on Earth," he said. "I came back to look into the malfunctions."

"Oh yes, right," she said as if only just remembering that point.

Lance looked at his sister oddly. "Are you alright?" he asked carefully. "You look…manic."

Allura's face burst into a smile that nearly blinded Lance with its brilliance. "I'm ecstatic!" she cried, grabbing both of her brother's hands in her own. "Father just gave me amazing news."

The prince hesitated, not sure how he felt about that strange gleam in his sister's eyes. It just didn't seem right. "What news?" he asked.

"You have to come with me," she said, running back down the hall dragging Lance along. "You have to see it to believe it."

"See what?" Lance said, stumbling to keep up with Allura's enthusiasm. "Allura, wait!"

The princess pulled him to the door to the holodeck and Lance blinked. "Father?" he said. "Does this have something to do with Father?"

"Just wait and see," she said, waiting for the door to slide open before pulling him inside.

The holographic mountainside shone in the simulated sunlight of Altea as it was 10,000 periods ago. The juniberry flowers in full bloom waved in the breeze with the tall blades of emerald green grass. Far above lins moved their slender, serpentine bodies through the air in their biannual migration.

In the center of it all stood King Alfor's memory. The former king smiled at his son and held his arms out in greeting. "Lance," he said. "I'm glad you came."

"Tell him, Father," Allura said excitedly. "Tell him what you told me."

Alfor laughed and patted his daughter's beautiful hair lovingly. Something about it just felt…off to Lance.

"Tell me what?" the prince asked, watching his family in confusion.

The former king's smiled softened. "I have something to show you," he said.

Lance shifted nervously but nodded, waiting patiently. He watched his father's memory wave a hand causing the lights in the holodeck to dim drastically. Pinpoints of light similar to starbugs flew through the air around him before settling in the organized chaos Lance recognized as, "A starmap," he whispered. He looked around him in awe. "I don't understand. What am I supposed to see?"

Allura's smile was perhaps a bit too wide. She pointed to a spot in space that was currently empty of any planets or stars, waving him closer. Cautiously, Lance approached his sister and looked at the empty spot suspiciously.

"There's nothing there," he said.

"That's because I hid it," the former king said in quiet pride. "I had to protect you and everyone else from the Galra at all costs."

Lance looked up at his father's memory. "I-I don't understand," he admitted.

Alfor nodded to the empty spot and Lance slowly returned his gaze to the void in the starmap. Only, it wasn't a void anymore. Where before there had been nothing, there was now a star system. But this star system shouldn't exist. Lance had finally accepted it was gone, lost, destroyed.

He suddenly felt clouded, muddled, confused, unable to look away from the star system that simply should not be there. It became hard to focus on anything else. This wasn't right. Something was happening to him. This wasn't… This was…

"Altea," he whispered.


	76. PART 3 - 76: Hematite

**A/N:** Another night, another chapter, another character. Oh boy~

Mistro \- Norwegian for 'mistrust' **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Pidge gets a mouthful, Coran misses, and the femme fatale makes her debut.

* * *

 **76: Hematite - promotes common sense, level headedness, protection, stone for the mind  
**

Malcom Iverson was not prone to delusions or hallucinations. He was a commander of troops. He couldn't afford to get lost in his imagination. One slip and he could miss something important which could result in his cadets getting hurt or worse. It had been his responsibility to be sure all of the cadets remained inside the barracks of the west coast Garrison base and he'd missed two students who were now at the center of an international investigation regarding the Galaxy Garrison.

He didn't know everything that went on that night, but he knew enough to be sure laws had been broken and innocent lives had been needlessly endangered in a cover up. He highly suspected the cover-up involved the meteorite that crashed just outside the Garrison property that night prompting a fast reaction from the higher-ups. Whatever crash-landed that night must have been important.

How ironic that yet again, something feel from the sky resulting in a quick reaction from law enforcement and involved the very same cadets who went missing under his watch. He currently stood in the common room staring fixedly at the television screen. There, taking off and flying through the sky in multiple shots from multiple locations and sources was a mechanical lion.

The last time the commander saw a lion just like this one was the day after Hunk Palakiko and Pidge Gunderson, aka Katie Holt, vanished from the Garrison. Only that lion had been yellow and boxier in design than this one. The red lion on the television was red and sleeker, most likely built for speed and agility and, for some reason beyond the commander's comprehension, Janice Holt was inside it.

That was still hard for him to believe even as he watched yet another video of the red lion taking flight from the middle of a road. All he could think of to compare it to was a transformer. But did the robot lions have pilots or were they fully sentient and capable of flying themselves? So many questions and so few answers.

He toyed with his cell phone in his hand waiting for Janice to call him back like she'd promised right before the call dropped. She must have lost signal. He looked out the window at the sky looking for anything that could possibly be a faraway red lion zipping through the sky. He'd already been nearly fooled three different times by common passenger airplanes flying smoothly through the night sky. Clouds began moving in from the southwest until the sky was now mostly cloudy with a ceiling of 2,000 feet, blocking the brightening from the oncoming sunlight,

Something from the southeast caught his attention. It wasn't much, just a disturbance in the cloud patterns that was typical of large aerial vehicles. There was just one thing: that aerial vehicle was not flying along the typical flight paths of most commercial planes and there weren't any military bases in the vicinity. In fact, this area was too mountainous for the low altitude that vehicle, whatever it was, was currently flying at.

Then it occurred to him. He had no proof and no return call from Janice to confirm his theory, but he suspected he knew exactly what that aerial vehicle was: the red lion. Without thinking, he grabbed his keys, his wallet, his phone, and slung on a jacket while stuffing his feet in his shoes and left the hotel room the WPA had set him up in.

He barely made it outside before the red lion made it to the large green field next to the small hotel. For a giant ship, the lion was surprisingly quiet. He stepped out into the open and immediately felt the lion's glowing yellow eyes lock onto him. The lion remained standing but lowered its huge head and opened its mouth. Commander Malcom Iverson did not flinch. However, when a ramp folded out from the lion's lower jaw and Pidge Gunderson stepped out into the open, Iverson did heave a sigh of relief.

"Cadet," he said.

"Commander," his former cadet said.

"Is Palakiko with you?" he asked.

Gunderson jerked her chin upwards. "He's still in the cockpit," she answered stiffly.

Iverson nodded, unable to tear his eyes away from his formerly missing cadet. He swallowed thickly. "Cadet," he said sharply, startling Gunderson into an attention stance, "report."

Gunderson saluted and answered in a short, curt voice, "Hunk and I found Shiro and saved him from the Garrison's goons," she said. "Then we found the Yellow Lion and flew it away."

"Away where, Cadet?" Iverson said.

"Space, sir," Gunderson answered promptly. "And with all due respect, sir," she lowered her hand, breaking the salute, "I don't answer to you anymore. I'm a paladin of Voltron and I only answer to my leader and Shiro."

The way Gunderson stood and spoke left an impression on the commander. This wasn't a cadet standing before him, this was a soldier. He was proud of her.

"Well done," he said, returning the salute Gunderson had originally offered him.

Movement behind Gunderson caught his attention and he looked up to see Janice Holt walking down the ramp towards him. He nodded to her respectfully.

"Mrs. Holt," he said.

"Commander," she replied. "I hope you don't mind the intrusion."

Iverson gave a slight shake of his head. "I don't," he said, lifting his gaze to the robot lion's two large eyes. "But I expect an explanation for all this."

"Look you fucktard," Pidge snapped, "you'd better make sure my Mom's safe an-GAH!"

"Commander, you wouldn't happen to have a bar of soap on hand, would you?" Janice said.

Iverson snorted. "Back in my room, I do," he said.

"Could you go get it, please?" Janice asked sweetly. "I have to wash my daughter's mouth out before she goes flying off to Neverland."

"I am _not_ going to Neverland and I'm fine," Pidge yelled, struggling to get free of her mother's grasp on her arm.

"Be right back, ma'am," Iverson said, turning and making his way back into his room to grab a bar of soap. When he returned to the green, there was a growing crowd of people on the coming out to stare and record what was going on. He handed the bar of soap to Janice, and said calmly, "Here you go."

"Traito-MMHPH!"

Gunderson flailed and fought to escape the soapy bar in her mouth.

"Suck it up and take your punishment like a woman, Cadet," Iverson said.

After a few seconds, Janice removed the soap bar and tossed it back to the commander. "Thank you," she said, ignoring her daughter's hacking and coughing from the horrible flavor.

"No problem, ma'am," the commander said. "Will you be staying long?"

"I will be," Janice said.

"But we won't," a new voice said followed by Hunk Palakiko joining the group. He looked tired. "We have to get back to the Castle. Our friend needs help."

"Which one?" Iverson demanded.

"His name's Keith," Hunk said. "And we have to go," he said, staring Gunderson in the eye. Gunderson growled in annoyance, only to cough and ruin the image.

"Then have a safe flight," Iverson said.

"Thanks sir," Hunk said, flashing the commander a grin and pulling a sloppy salute that would have earned him a stern talking to had they still been in the Garrison. "Come on Pidge. Later Mrs. Holt."

"Fly safe," Janice said, waving to Hunk. "Keep an eye on your friend," she added. "He needs someone by him."

"Yeah," Hunk groaned. "Don't I know it."

"Katie," Janice said, turning to her daughter. She kneeled and pulled her little girl into her arms, squeezing her tightly. "Be safe and bring back our family."

Gunderson clung to her mother tearfully for a minute before letting her go and stepping back. "I'll be back," she said. "And I'll have Matt and Dad with me. Just you wait."

Janice smiled and ruffled her daughter's hair before standing and stepping out of the lion's mouth. When she was clear, the lion lifted its head and began closing. The last thing Iverson saw was Gunderson waving to her mother. If there were any tears on her face, the commander made no note of it.

"You did good, Katie," he said softly. "We've got it from here."

* * *

Coran combed through every available memory crystal he could get his hands on. There were quite a few but none of them mentioned anything that could even remotely imply immortality was possible, let alone an actuality.

"Anything?" Shiro asked, holding the latest of a slew of slides holding memory storage crystals in his hand.

Coran sighed heavily. "No," he said. "Nothing." He placed the crystal in his hand back into its slot in the slide the black paladin held. "I'm not sure we'll find anything about this. This was mostly hopeful inspection, more than anything else."

Shiro slid the slide of crystals back into its proper place before sighed and turning his gaze to the advisor. "So then why did you take me here?" he asked seriously.

Coran shrugged which only served to rub the black paladin the wrong way.

"Coran," he said. "What aren't you telling me?"

The advisor stiffened and flushed obviously. "It's nothing important," he said. "I don't think," he added softly.

"If that's true, then why won't you tell me?" Shiro asked. "What are you hiding?"

"Nothing," Coran said, turning to the paladin. "Lance asked me give him some time alone is all." He shrugged. "He needed to speak to Alfor, I believe. But…let's just say it has something to do with Keith and leave it at that."

Shiro's eyes widened momentarily before narrowing. "This has something to do with the red Lion acting out," he said in dawning comprehension. "What happened? Is everything alright?"

"To answer your first question," Coran began, "I don't know. Lance didn't tell me exactly what happened and I won't break his confidence and tell you even if he did. If he wants to tell you, he will. Besides, I think Pidge and Hunk will be more than willing to fill us in on the full story when they get here."

"What about Keith?" Shiro said suspiciously. "Why didn't you mention Keith?"

The advisor sighed. "Because I'm not sure what state Keith will be in when he arrives," he admitted reluctantly. "Like I said, I'm not sure what happened. I have an idea, but I don't know the details or the circumstances. All I know for sure is that Keith won't be well."

"Then why are we in here instead of prepping a healing pod?" Shiro demanded in shock. "If Keith-"

"It wouldn't help," Coran said, his eyes sad. "What Keith is undoubtedly suffering from is nothing a healing pod can cure. It will take time and acceptance to fix this. It's a matter of the heart after all." He crossed his arms and began strolling towards the door to the hallway. "As for your second question, everything is not alright, as I'm sure you were able to ascertain already."

"What can I do to help?" Shiro asked.

Coran smiled and placed a hand on the black paladin's shoulder. "Just don't be too cruel to Lance when you see him," he said. "That boy has a temper that is well-known in its destructiveness. If you remember from our impromptu eavesdropping of our favorite siblings' fight, then you remember Lance's gift of using words tailored to his opponent's weaknesses as weapons. He doesn't get angry often in the grand scheme of things, but this is, unfortunately, his own personal weakness. He's aware of this weakness and tries to keep it under wraps, but no one is perfect."

Coran tugged the paladin along so they walked together. "When I spoke to him last, he was having a breakdown," he continued. "If he took my advice, then he should be speaking to former king Alfor right now."

"But isn't Allura with Alfor?" Shiro asked curiously.

"She said she would be," Coran said casually. "But she could have finished by now. Or she's still there and Lance is with her. I have no way of knowing and even if I did, I wouldn't intrude. I suggest we wait until Pidge and Hunk return with Keith and the Red Lion before jumping to any conclusions."

Shiro hesitated before nodding reluctantly. "I'll head down to the Red Lion's hanger and wait for them," he said.

"I'll come with you if you don't mind," Coran said as they rounded the corner and continued towards the lift. "I think we-"

* * *

Coran's words were abruptly drowned out by a deafening rush of air that blasted the entire hallway and ripped Shiro off his feet. He managed to latch onto a metal beam with his Druid-enhanced hand, clamping onto it with its inhuman strength. But the wind never stopped howling and the pull never stopped tearing at his body. Alarms blared for a couple seconds before blubbering then falling silent altogether.

What in the hell was going on here?

Shiro looked down towards where the wind was blowing and gasped. The door to the airlock was wide open, dragging anything and everything not bolted to the ground out into the void. Before long, this entire corridor would be effectively space if they couldn't shut that airlock in time.

They. Coran. Where was Coran?

Frantically, the black paladin turned his head looking for the Altean. There was no sign of him anywhere. But that meant…

Shiro stared at the gaping airlock in dismay. Steeling himself, he released his hold on the beam anchoring him in place and allowed himself to fly through the air towards the opening. His body struck the side of the hallway close to the airlock, tumbling before becoming airborne once again. He snatched another beam in his mechanical arm's powerful grip and braced his feet on the doorjamb of the airlock.

It took some effort to use his precarious position to turn his body around so his head and torso were closest to the opening. He carefully leaned over the opening to see down the airlock tunnel. The darkness of space hung silent and looming at the far end of the tunnel, waiting to devour the air and interior of the Castle of Lions whole. Dangling from one of the protruding edges lining the tunnel, his feet kicking uselessly in the air and his grip weakening by the second, was Coran.

Shiro used his Druid-enhanced arm's superior strength to ease himself down into the windstream and reach out to his friend.

"Coran!" he shouted, hoping his voice wasn't lost to the howling wind.

"Shiro!" the advisor screamed, his eyes shining in fright. His voice was faint over the sound of the rushing air. It was getting harder to breathe. "Help. Please."

"Grab my hand!" the black paladin shouted, holding out his free hand to the advisor.

He couldn't get close enough to grab Coran alone. The Altean would have to sacrifice his grip in order to take Shiro's hand and be lifted to safety. Shiro had to hope that Coran trusted him enough to let go and take his hand.

Coran tried, once. He barely managed to lift his right hand before snapping it back into place when his body slipped towards the void, weakening his already tenuous hold on the beam. "Pull me up," he pleaded, his voice still faint.

Shiro shook his head. "I can't reach," he said. "You have to meet me halfway."

"I can't," Coran said, shaking his head. "Shiro I-"

"You can, Coran!" Shiro shouted. "You can and you will. Now grab my hand."

"I'll fall," the advisor cried, shaking his head to clear his hair out of his gaze when it was blown into his face.

"You'll die if you stay there," Shiro shouted. "Trust me!"

The Altean winced but did not release his hold, clinging to the beam with all of his strength. For one terrifying moment, Shiro thought Coran would just hang there waiting to die. Then the advisor braced himself and kicked off the airlock wall, pushing himself up to the black paladin with all of his might. He swung out an arm wildly, and missed.

* * *

She adored Meserie. The stark difference between the sunward side and the dark side of the planet, both extremes that could kill almost every living being in the universe, with a single, narrow strip along the sunset that supported life. What a perfect metaphor for life. Balancing the dangers of defying the emperor of the Galra Empire while dealing directly with the emperor's son was a glorious game of cat-and-mouse that thrilled her to no end.

The fact she profited from this venture quite handsomely certainly played a part in her enjoyment. Manufacturing the goods was costly and a pain, but with Lotor's help, she had a steady stream of workers that could easily be replaced. As long as he kept his hands where they belonged and she got the money and power she'd been promised, and was seeing fall into her lap with each passing day, she was perfectly happy with her situation.

Meserie, with its many denizens from so many planets, races, and species, was the perfect place to hide and deal. The lower levels were useful, but surprisingly turned out the lowest profit. It never ceased to amaze her how many of the elite classes were willing to risk death just for a few hours of fun and games. She supposed power and money tended to dull the mind, with herself being the exception, of course.

A gargling squawk by her ear alerted her to her neglect. She reached up and soothed her precious companion's feathers. The poor thing hated being ignored. Microraptors were known for their demanding attitudes. She couldn't leave her pet alone for longer than a couple tecks before it became a destructive monstrosity that trashed everything in sight until it was back on her shoulder. She left it alone with anyone she despised.

It had garnered her a rather interesting reputation. That paired with her minor telepathy, which was magnified by her microraptor's presence made her a shrewd dealer. Why try to double-cross a powerful person if she knew you were going to betray her in the first place? Of course, if they insisted, she wouldn't stop them. At least, not by her own hand. She had to feed her pet somehow, right?

She stepped off the lift onto the skypath leading to the main tourist district for the higher echelons. Yet another perk of having the Galran prince as an ally, she got to stay in the best places. One of the hotel employees approached her and bowed respectfully.

"Welcome to The Mistro, Lady Merla," he said.

Merla smiled, tilting her head so her long, red hair spilled over her shoulders like a lava flow. Her smile was enough to make the employee blush and rush to guide her to her rooms. It seemed The Mistro had hired new employees since she was last here. She looked forward to breaking them in.


	77. PART 3 - 77: Azurite

**A/N:** And with this, I'm going to bed. It has been a long and trying day emotionally, mentally, and physically. And I have work tomorrow. ...I hate my life right now. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Shiro pulls off a miracle but suspects a curse and Keithek lives his worst nightmare. **  
**

* * *

 **77:** **Azurite - enhances communication, guidance to psychic self, cuts through illusion**

He had a split second between the time he realized Coran wasn't going to reach him and the time he decided that was unacceptable. Shiro grit his teeth and allowed his body to weaken so the rushing air could drag him down through the airlock towards Coran. He braced his feet so they caught the edge of the airlock outer door, stopping his fall just short of the point of no return. But it was enough. He caught Coran's outstretched hand in his metal one.

"Climb up!" he shouted over the wind.

He wasn't sure if the advisor nodded because he was too focused on holding their precarious position, preventing them from slipping further into the danger zone. But Coran did start trying to make his way up the black paladin's body slowly but surely. Before long though, Shiro's body began shaking from the strain. He closed his eyes and grit his teeth and focused all of his physical and mental energy on staying in place.

Then, as abruptly as the airlock opened, it closed. Unfortunately, because Shiro's position had been approximately three feet above the floor, he promptly fell to the ground with a solid thud that knocked the wind out of him. He coughed and gasped until he could get enough air to satisfy his abused lungs.

"Shiro," the advisor said, slumped weakly by the airlock's main door which was still open. "Come on. Hurry."

Shiro pushed himself up to his hands and knees and lifted his gaze to the far end of the airlock. The far door was shut but the secondary door Shiro had landed on as well as the main door Coran leaned against remained open. The black paladin crawled up to the hallway to join Coran as fast as he could manage with his shaking muscles. The advisor held out a weak hand to Shiro offering his help.

Shiro huffed and took the advisor's offered hand using it to leverage himself out of the airlock and into the hallway. The moment he made it out of the airlock, Coran slapped a button on the panel next to the airlock door which immediately slammed shut. Both men collapsed against the wall gasping and shaking from adrenaline.

"That…" Coran said, "is not…something…I want to ever, _ever_ experience…again."

Shiro said nothing. He just huffed a weak laugh and flashed a smile, letting his head bump against the wall behind him. He looked around, never happier to see the inside of the Castle of Lions when he noticed something at the far end of the hallway where it turned a corner to the lift. For a moment, Shiro could swear he saw the ghostly image of a man in white before it disappeared just as quickly.

But there was more. For that brief second the spectre had been visible, the light from it had reflected off something standing by the corner of the wall. It was dark and… Was that…

"Lance?" he said.

The form vanished leaving Shiro wondering what he had seen. Or, more accurately, why he had seen it. He didn't doubt that it had been Lance standing there. He would recognize the glint of the prince's cybernetic eye anywhere. It had a shine that reminded the black paladin too much of Sendak's cybernetic implant for comfort. So why did Lance just stand there and not come to help?

"Something's not right," Shiro muttered under his breath.

"Mm? What is it Shiro?" Coran asked. The advisor studied the black paladin's expression closely before following his gaze to the end of the hallway. When he didn't see anything there, he furrowed his brow and looked back at Shiro in curiosity. "Shiro?"

"I saw Lance," Shiro said, pushing himself to his feet, still staring at the corner. "He was standing right there."

"Lance?" Coran asked, standing next to Shiro. "If he was there then why didn't he come help?"

"I don't know," the paladin said, striding quickly down the hall to the place he knew he'd seen the prince stand not moments before. "And there was something else." He turned to the advisor and said seriously, "I saw a man. He looked like a ghost. His hair and clothes were white. I only saw him for a minute, but I saw him. Any ideas?"

"White…" Coran shook his head, then stopped. His eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped open. "But that's… He shouldn't be able to do that."

"Do what?" Shiro demanded, facing the advisor fully. "Who shouldn't be able to do what?"

"King Alfor," Coran answered. "I believe the person you saw was the former king Alfor. But…" Coran shook his head in disbelief. "He shouldn't be able to appear in his holographic form, or any form for that matter, outside of the holodeck. The memory core that holds Alfor's quintessence is locked in the holodeck. The program shouldn't allow for Alfor's quintessence to leave there."

"Well apparently that's not true anymore," Shiro said, looking at the spot where he'd seen Alfor's spectral form. "I saw him. He was there. And Lance was here." He pointed to the spot by the corner. "I saw the light from the former king's hologram reflect off of Lance's cybernetic eye." He sighed. "Something's not right about this."

"If Lance was here when the airlock opened," Coran said, "then he was probably trying to hold on and not be pulled out just like we were." He saw the black paladin's doubt and his gaze darkened. "Shiro," he said in a stern voice, "I've known the prince all his life. Lance may be reckless but, above all, he is loyal. He would not deliberately harm anyone he cares about."

"But you already told me Lance has a temper," Shiro countered.

The advisor glared angrily. "Lashing out at someone and attempted murder are two _very_ different things, Takashi Shirogane," he said in a cold voice that made the black paladin grimace. "Alteans view murder as one of the most terrible of offenses. Lance would _never_ stoop to that. Ever."

Shiro flushed and looked back down the hallway where the lift light settled on the level where the bridge was located. "Let's hope you're right," he said, beginning to walk towards the lift.

"Shiro," Coran called, stopping the paladin in his tracks. "Lance has a good heart. I stand by him and so will Allura. Understand that if you turn on him, you'll have all three of us against you."

"Then let's make sure to clear him of suspicion as soon as possible," the black paladin said, pressing the button for the lift. "You coming?" he asked, turning back to the Altean advisor.

Coran hesitated. "Only to prove his innocence," he said, before walking over to join Shiro.

Suddenly, a ding echoed through the hall from the speakers. Both Coran and Shiro looked up at the ceiling curiously.

"The Red Lion is returning," the advisor said. "Let's go to the Lion's hanger first. Keith will need help."

"You can go," Shiro said. "I'm going after-"

"You're coming with me, Shiro," Coran said firmly, stepping into the lift and pressing the button for the Red Lion's hanger before Shiro could do otherwise. "Whether you like it or not."

Shiro sighed as they rode in silence.

* * *

"How's he doin'?" Pidge asked from her place on the other side of the pilot seat in the Red Lion's cockpit.

Hunk brushed dark hair out of the red paladin's face and sighed. "He's asleep," he said in relief. "Dude, what is going on with him?"

"I don't know," Pidge said, watching the Red Lion fly itself through the slipstream. "But whatever it is, it's Lance's fault and like hell I'm going to forgive that douchebag so easily."

Hunk sighed and looked over to the green paladin. Pidge's face was grim, her eyes narrowed in withheld fury. "What are we going to tell Shiro?" he asked hesitantly.

Pidge's expression wavered. "I… I don't know," she admitted reluctantly. "Maybe Coran can explain what's going on with Keith." She glanced down at the now unconscious halfbreed in genuine worry. "He'll be okay," she said, more to convince herself than Hunk. "He'll be okay."

Hunk nodded and looked out the cockpit view screen. The tangled threads of light zipped by as they fly through the slipstream. Suddenly, an alarm dinged and the next thing they knew, the Red Lion exited the slipstream, slinging both paladins back to the floor at the back of the cockpit.

Pidge groaned and pushed herself up. Keith was bracing himself with on hand on the pilot seat and Hunk was clutching one of the joint on the wall of the- Keith was holding on to something. He was _awake!_

"Keith!" she cried sitting up as quickly as she could.

Hunk also sat up in surprise. Both paladins watched as Keith silently pulled himself up and sat down in the pilot's seat. He took the controls and pushed the throttles forward guiding the Red Lion into a fast dive towards the Castle of Lions, shining white and sleek just below the rings of Saturn. He dove through one of the breaks in the rings created by a small shepherd moon and pulled up to fly towards the Red Lion's hanger.

"Keith?" Hunk called, standing. "Are you alright?" He walked slowly up to his friend and reached out to touch the red paladin's shoulder.

"Don't."

The word was short and curt, but effective. The yellow paladin obediently backed off, sadness in his eyes. Pidge grabbed a handful of Hunk's shirt and tugged him towards her, away from Keith.

"It's okay," she said softly.

Hunk and Pidge watched in silence as Keith flew the Red Lion towards the Castle gently. The Red Lion's hanger was still wide open. It probably hadn't been closed after the Lion left in what Pidge suspected had been a hurry. Keith eased the Lion into its hanger, landed it gently. He sighed when the Red Lion settled on the floor of the hanger and waited for the hanger door to close.

* * *

Keithek stood quietly and made his way around the pilot seat to the exit with Hunk and Pidge at his heels. As he walked down the ramp in the Red Lion's mouth, he couldn't find the energy to lift his gaze and his gate was slow and heavy. He stepped out onto the open floor, stumbling when he missed a step.

The hand that caught him wasn't warm and living. It was cold and metal. Keithek blinked and straightened, avoiding the black paladin's eyes. He nodded in a vague thank you, looking down. He felt tired and drained.

The cold stone that formed in his gut when his ma- when Lance rejected him had grown to the point where he could barely feel his legs. He was aware they were there and that he could move them, but it took effort and energy which he was having a hard time mustering. It felt like his lower body was as heavy as lead and as cold as ice. He just wished…

He just wished it was the ice belonging to the blue paladin that he'd grown to crave. That ice, while cold, was still paradoxically warm and welcoming. It made his _want_ like he'd never wanted before. The thought of losing that ice, those mismatched blue eyes, that flirtatious smile, and that beautiful heart… It left him feeling empty and listless, balancing at the edge of a precipice, and just waiting to fall.

"Keith."

He jolted, lifting his head up. He felt so heavy.

"Are you okay?"

Shiro.

"I'm…"

"Say 'fine' and I may have to hurt you," Pidge said from somewhere to Keithek's left.

Keithek sighed. "I feel… detached," he said.

"Keith." That was Coran. Sure enough, the Altean advisor's face appeared in Keithek's vision. "I need you to listen carefully. Whatever Lance said, it wasn't true. You don't have to take my word for it, but please let Lance explain himself."

Lance. The emptiness suddenly loomed that much closer, threatening to overwhelm him entirely.

"We need to get him to healing pod." Hunk.

"No," Shiro said.

Keithek blinked, trying to keep his thoughts in the here and now. It was so hard not to drift.

"The malfunctions are getting serious," Shiro continued. "We were almost sucked out of an airlock."

Keithek lifted his head, his ears twitching in the black paladin's general direction with interest.

"What?" Hunk cried.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Pidge said.

"Lance," Keithek murmured. Was Lance alright? Where was he? He wasn't hurt, was he?

He cringed and clamped his hands over his sensitive ears when a blaring alarm suddenly flooded the speakers of the hanger. He couldn't stop a pathetic whimper from slipping out when the alarm continued to blare.

"No," Coran cried. "That's not possible. She wouldn't do that without warning us first."

"She? You mean Allura?" Pidge asked in confusion.

It hurt. The alarm hurt. Make it stop.

"She wouldn't do what?" Hunk asked.

"Make it stop," Keithek whispered, his eyes tearing as the blaring sound continued to assault his ears. It was starting to give him a headache.

"It's Allura," Coran said. "She's opening a wormhole."

 _"That's_ what that alarm is for?" Hunk gasped. "Does it go off whenever she opens a wormhole?"

"Make it stop," Keithek murmured.

"No, it doesn't," Coran said.

It sounded like the advisor was moving away as he spoke. Keithek couldn't tell. He could barely lift his head as the deafening klaxon filled his ears.

"It only sounds when a wormhole is opened without following certain safety procedures," Coran said.

The black paladin's metal arm tightened its hold on Keithek's arm and began tugging him forward. He stumbled over his heavy, numb feet and one of his hands came free of his ear. He cried out and fought against Shiro's hold, trying to pull his hand back and cover his ringing ear.

"Make it _stop!"_ he screamed over the alarm.

"we have to get to the bridge," he heard Coran say in a nervous voice. "Once we get there, the alarm shouldn't be as loud."

"Can we turn it off from there?" Pidge asked.

"We can, yes," the advisor confirmed. "But we have to _get there_ first. Come on."

Keithek winced but allowed himself to be hauled along as fast as his leaden feet could carry him. He almost collapsed to his knees when the lift moved upwards. As it was, he felt Shiro wrap and arm around his shoulders to help support him.

"Keith," the black paladin called. "Hang in there. We're almost there."

Keithek managed a sad excuse of a nod. Then the pull towards the lift floor ceased and the door opened. The others in their group hurried out and ran down the hallway. Shiro lingered, taking his time helping the pathetically feeble red paladin hobble along behind. Normally, Keithek would have felt shame for his weakness. But right now, all he could think about was the emptiness filling his gut, the unwelcome ice creeping up his torso towards his heart, and the never-ending repetition of Lance' s name in his head.

He noticed when they entered the bridge however. The ambient lighting around him changed, brightening to a starry white from the cool turquoise of the hallway. He heard gasps and tried to find the strength to look up and see what he was missing.

"Allura!" Shiro called in a desperate voice. Was that fear as well? "What's going on?"

"Lance! Where are we going?" Coran shouted, sounding distraught. There was definitely fear.

Keithek braced himself, drawing on every ounce of strength he could muster and lifted his head. He removed his hands from his ears when he realized there was no alarm on the bridge. However, from what he could see, there was no need for an alarm. Everything looked calm, normal even. Except that the princess was wearing what looked like night clothes and the prince, Lance, was standing beside her, close to her.

Both Altean royal siblings' backs were to Keithek, but when Coran and Shiro called out, Allura did look over her shoulder.

"We're going to Altea," she said. Her voice had a dreamy lilt to it, almost as if she was in a trance. "We're going home."

"Allura stop," Coran said. "Altea is gone. Why are you doing this?"

"Allura, you have to stop!" Shiro shouted.

"Lance!" Pidge shouted loudly. "Lance, you fucking son of a bitch, make your sister stop this ship."

"Allura!" Shiro called, releasing his hold on Keithek's arm and racing to the pedestal on which Lance and Allura stood. "Allura sto-"

 _"Stay away from my children!"_

A particle barrier much like the one that had been used to imprison Sendak right before Keithek killed him suddenly materialized around the pedestal just as Shiro reached it. Unable to stop in time, the black paladin slammed into the barrier and was thrown back to the bridge floor, sliding along the smooth surface and gasping.

"HOLY FRAKING QUIZNAK!" Pidge shouted.

"What the heck is going on?" Hunk cried, looking around them.

Keithek could barely believe his weary eyes either. Every single visible view screen was filled with the face of Alfor, Lance's father. The man who'd given Lance and Keithek his blessing before Keithek made love to Lance the first time. The memory made his face burn in shame and longing.

But whereas before, Alfor had been kind and smiled, this Alfor's expression was vicious and angry, almost hateful.

"Coran, what's going on?" Hunk asked again.

"It's the infection from the Galra crystal," the advisor said. "The perverted quintessence must have infiltrated King Alfor's memory core and corrupted it."

"Great. Okay. So how do we fix that?" the yellow paladin demanded, his face whipping from view screen to view screen in growing horror.

"We have to stop them," Shiro said, getting back to his feet.

"Lance?" Keithek whispered.

 _Sentinel,"_ Alfor's voice said over the bridge's speakers. _"Intruders threaten your Heir. Do not let them touch her."_

The prince turned from the front of the bridge to face Coran and the other paladins. Keithek flinched when he saw the prince's eyes. There was something…off about them. Lance stepped down from the pedestal and right through the particle barrier, leaving his sister to pilot the Castle of Lions. In his place, a hologram of the former king Alfor appeared by Allura's side.

"Lance," Keithek called.

"Galra," the prince hissed, dropping to a defensive pose.

Keithek flinched at the word, his ears folding back against his head. "Lance?" he called, reaching out to his mate longingly. There was something… Lance smelled…wrong. "Lance?"

 _"Do your duty, Sentinel,"_ Alfor's voice commanded. It sounded…garbled somehow.

However, before Lance could attack, the Castle broke free of the wormhole, bursting into an unknown star system. The parent star blazed blindingly through the view screens, tinting everything a hot gold. But the Castle didn't stop moving. It wasn't moving at top speed anymore, but it continued to advance towards the star. But there was something about this star…

"We're heading right for the star," Pidge said in dawning horror, "and I think it's going to explode."

"We have to stop it!" Hunk cried.

Then, as quickly as the image of the star appeared, it vanished. The image that replaced it was of a sparkling world covered in sapphire blue oceans and emerald land. Slender arms of silvery-white glittered as they orbited the planet.

"Altea," Coran breathed in shock.

Shiro grit his teeth. "It's not real," he said. "Lance, this isn't real. You have to stop this!"

Lance just narrowed his eyes and leapt forwards, ready to attack.

"Lance!" Keithek cried.


	78. PART 3 - 78: Azurite-Malachite

**A/N:** Hope y'all enjoy and sleep well. I'm crashing now. I've only had 5 hours of sleep over the past 48 hours. Not on purpose. Yesterday and last night were trying and I think I channeled some of that angst into this chapter so... Yeah, be prepared. ^_^ **  
**

**Side note:** If anyone needs a reference to how Lance is fighting in this chapter, watch the battle between Keith and the Druid in episode 10 Collection and Extraction. The whys and hows that Lance is able to use all of that power when he never exhibited it before will be explained in a later chapter. It's a plot point. ^_~

 **Chapter summary:** In which the battle begins and Allura learns something terrible. **  
**

* * *

 **78: Azurite-Malachite - cleanses negative thought, aids in clarity and understanding with visions, & initiates transformation**

He was fast. That was the first thing Shiro thought when Lance leapt at them. The black paladin had fought side-by-side with the Altean prince on numerous occasions both in the training arena and on the battlefield. But he had never seen Lance move so fast before. He barely had time to raise his arms in self-defense before Lance was upon him. He was expecting the punch but he did not expect the sheer force backing the punch.

When his attack was halted, Lance tried again. But each time, Shiro blocked him. The prince's brows drew down and his eyes narrowed in frustration. He tried again, but this time, instead of merely blocking the blow, Shiro caught Lance's wrist. He used the prince's momentum to spin him around wrenching the offending arm at a painful angle behind Lance's back.

"Lance stop," Shiro commanded. "We're your friends."

Instead of calming, the prince turned his head and spat in Shiro's face. Then he vanished. Thrown by the abrupt loss of weight in his hands, Shiro blinked and stared at his empty arms in confusion. When he did look up, however, it was just in time to take a kick to the chest that propelled him through the air. He grunted in pain when his back slammed against the wall behind him knocking the window out of him. He staggered but managed to stay on his feet.

That shouldn't be possible. Lance's physique was too slim to be able to pack the amount of force he'd just exhibited. It wasn't natural. In fact, for a moment it almost felt like Shiro was back in the gladiator arena. Shiro shook his head to clear it and focused his gaze on the expanse of the bridge between himself and Allura. He had to stop this.

Unfortunately, it seemed Lance was driven to be sure that didn't happen. Lance was busy dodging every attack thrown at him from Hunk and Pidge. Hunk slung his fist, only to overbalance and fall forward when Lance suddenly wasn't there. The next second, Lance materialized behind the yellow paladin, kicking Hunk's behind finishing off what little hold Hunk had on balance.

Shiro could barely believe his eyes. For a second, Lance had simply vanished into thin air. He was there one second and gone the next. There was no way Lance or anyone could move that fast. But the only other explanation was teleportation whether through a device or personal power. How was that even possible? This was Star Trek.

Was it?

Lance tilted his head, his expression smoothing into an impassive mask that Shiro recognized from… He'd seen people wear that expression before. Many people. They'd been…

Shiro's thoughts screeched to a stop when he heard what he could only call a war cry. He turned his head to the cry and pushed off the wall, pressing a hand against his bruised chest. Pidge was charging directly at the prince at top speed. Her bayard materialized in her hand, buzzing with electric energy as she ran.

"Pidge, watch out!" he shouted.

Lance didn't appear bothered by the green paladin's advance at all. He gave the girl a look Shiro could only describe as disdainful and swept his arm out towards her. The air tingled with power instants before a bolt of purple-tinged, white energy shot from the prince's palm, striking the green paladin square in the chest. She screamed as she was thrown back, landing hard on the floor, sliding across the tiles still clutching her bayard.

"Lance?" Coran gasped, backing away when the prince turned his attention to the advisor.

"That's enough Lance!" Shiro said fiercely, pushing away from the wall. "If you want to fight," he activating his Druid-enhanced arm, "then you fight us. Leave Coran out of it."

Lance gave Shiro a once over before dismissing him entirely, choosing instead to continue his advance on the advisor. Then he vanished, reappearing inched from Coran's face. The advisor barely had time to cry out before two hands gripped his throat and squeezed, cutting off his airway. Desperately, Coran tried to dig his fingers between his throat and Lance's hands.

"Lance stop!" Shiro cried.

"Shiro, get down!" Hunk shouted.

Shiro didn't question the order. He hit the floor immediately just as burst of yellow energy blasted through the space he'd just occupied. If the prince had looked up, he would have seen the attack coming and dodged. He didn't. The blast blindsided him, sending him flying. His body struck one of the control panels lining the walls of the bridge and crumbled limply to the floor.

 _"No!"_ Keith screamed.

* * *

"It's beautiful," she said. "Just as beautiful as I remember it."

"Yes," her father said, resting a loving hand on her shoulder. "And unchanged."

He swept out his hand and Allura's face brightened with joy. Stretched out before her was a plain of grass and stones speckled with juniberry flowers in full bloom. Several small ponds dotted the expanse. They were shallow, filled with rainwater and water condensed from the clouds that regularly engulfed this field. But there were no clouds today. Far above, the Daystar shone, reflecting off of the Alteanoid-made rings orbiting Altea.

"The fields outside the capitol," Allura whispered in awe, covering her mouth with her hands as tears of joy streamed down her face. "I'm home." She fell to her knees in the green grass gently waving in the breeze. "Lance should be here," she said, plucking a juniberry flower and holding it up to watch the petals flutter in the breeze. "Lance and Coran both."

"They'll come soon enough," her father said. "Everyone ends here in time."

* * *

Shiro got to his feet and ran to where Coran had fallen, coughing, and gasping for air. He grabbed the advisor's shoulder and dragged him away from the prince's body, keeping his weaponized hand activated. The prince was still moving, which meant he was still a threat.

"Shiro," Hunk said, staring at his friend with wide eyes, "what are we supposed to do? How do we stop him?"

The black paladin hesitated. He didn't want to hurt the prince. Lance had been a vivacious member of their team. He'd wormed his way into their hearts before they even had the chance to stop and consider the consequences of that. But now he was the enemy.

"If we lose this battle," Shiro said grimly, "then Allura will fly this ship into that star and kill us all." He glanced at the princess who stood on the pedestal talking animatedly with her father.

"But if win," Hunk said, swallowing thickly, "then Lance will."

Shiro tightened his jaw as he tried to come up with a plan. He glanced to his side and saw Pidge. She was on her hands and knees, but Rover was hovering by her shoulder. The hoverbot must have been drawn by the racket they were no doubt causing. She lifted her head and met the black paladin's eyes. She was ready to fight.

But Keith was not. Shiro looked towards the entrance to the bridge and saw the red paladin leaning on a control panel and shivering. Keith was in no shape to fight. Shiro may not have known what happened to put the halfbreed in such a state, but he knew it involved Lance.

Speaking of, he looked back at the prince and scowled. "Coran," he said. "If we can keep Lance busy, could you try to snap Allura out of whatever's going on?"

"I…" The advisor looked at the princess sadly. "I'll do my upmost best," he promised.

"Good enough," Shiro said, lifting his arm in an attack position. "Paladins, take him out!"

 _"I said,"_ the voice of Alfor's memory said, causing the paladins to tense, _"stay away from my children!"_

Something like purple-tinted gold energy wafted from the Castle's consoles to the prince who soaked it in with a sigh. The black paladin's gasped and Hunk lowered his bayard in shock as the burns and bruises from his bayard's blast healed right before their eyes.

"What the hell?" Shiro murmured.

"He studied under the Druids, Shiro," Coran said. "I told you what he's capable of."

"Druids?" Keith said, lifting his head to watch Lance.

"Fight him like you fight a Druid," Coran said.

Shiro racked his brain for any memories of fighting the Druids in the arena during his time as a prisoner of the Galra. He could only see snatches of images, catches of thoughts, but nothing solid. What the hell. When in doubt?

"Hunk," he said. "Fire on my mark."

"What?" Keith gasped. "No. No, you can't. You can't hurt him."

"Keith, stay where you are," Shiro commanded firmly. "Hunk?" He raised his flesh arm, ready to signal the yellow paladin.

Hunk gulped and lifted his bayard so it aimed directly at Lance. This wasn't what he signed up for. This wasn't right. This shouldn't be happening. He didn't want to shoot his friend. He couldn't do it.

He opened his mouth to say so when…

 _"So this is what it has come to."_

Shiro froze. It couldn't be.

 _"You focused all of your attention on finding Zarkon's weakness when you should have been paying more attention to your own."_

"I know that voice," Pidge growled.

"Sendak!" Shiro roared in fury.

The voice over the speakers laughed. _"Look at you. Ready to kill your companion for doing what he thinks is right without regard for his well-being. How very Galra of you."_

"What have you done, Sendak?" Shiro demanded.

"Yes, what have you done to Lance and Allura?" Coran demanded from his place behind Shiro, a hand gingerly rubbing his neck.

 _"Like I told the little prince, I have done nothing. I merely struck a match. It was you who allowed the flames to grow. You who allowed it to progress to this point."_

"Don't listen to him Shiro," Pidge said fiercely, hefting her bayard as she got to her feet. "He's a lying bastard."

 _"If you don't believe me,"_ Sendak's voice drawled, _"then why ask me?"_

Shiro grit his teeth. "Coran, get Allura out of there."

"Right!" the advisor said, rushing to the particle barrier surrounding the pedestal Allura knelt on.

 _"Save the Heir, let the Sentinel die."_ The smirk was audible in the Galra's voice. _"You see now, little prince. You were born only to die."_

The stream of tainted energy flowing to the prince's body slowed to a stop. The paladins braced themselves for an attack, but it never came. Lance just stood there unmoving.

* * *

Allura sighed, letting her hand holding the juniberry stem drop to her lap following it with her gaze. "I wish Lauma and Aldrun were here," she murmured. "Alwida and Latif too. And mother."

"We'll see them soon," her father said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She rested her cheek on her father's hand and closed her eyes. "Lauma would have enjoyed this," she said. "She loved playing here with me when we were children."

 _"..lura…"_

She opened her eyes and lifted her head, looking around her curiously.

"What is it, daughter?" her father asked gently, squeezing her shoulder.

"I thought I heard-"

 _"Allura!"_

She tensed when something flickered to her left. It almost looked…like a person. "Hello?" she called. "Is someone there?"

"There's no one there, child," Alfor said, leaning over to give his daughter a strange look. "Are you feeling well?"

Allura met her father's gaze and felt something… "I…I suppose I'm a bit tir-"

 _"Allura! It's not real!"_

This time, she looked up as soon as she heard the voice. She was just in time to catch a glimpse of Coran flashing in and out of visibility like an error in a holodeck. "Coran?" she asked.

"The scent of the juniberries must be getting to you," her father said, standing. "Come now. Let's go rest."

"But I don't-"

 _"Where is the scent of the juniberry Allura!"_ Coran cried. _"It's not real."_

"It _is_ real, Allura," her father said.

Allura stilled. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, turning to look up to her father. "I thought no one was there," she said steadily. "Father, where is Coran? Where is Lance? Where is my brother?"

Her father's face crumbled into sadness. He moved his hand from Allura's shoulder to her hair, stroking it tenderly. "Oh, my dear daughter," he said, gazing into the princess's eyes brokenly. "You were our last hope."

Allura frowned in confusion. Her mind felt muddled as if filled with clouds.

"You were that last of the pure," he said. "With you, we could have created a whole new Altea safe from all Galra interference. We could have lived peacefully with you as the Heir and Lance as your Sentinel. But now even he's dirtied himself beyond saving. Sleeping with a halfbreed was despicable. For him to lower himself to that…" Alfor shook his head. "I cannot believe he is my son."

"Wha-" Allura stared at her father in dismay. "What are you saying?" She shook her head. "This isn't you."

"It was all Lauma's fault," the former king said mournfully, running his fingers through Allura's hair oblivious to his daughter's growing discomfort. "How could I choose her to be your Sentinel when she'd dirtied herself so much? And now Lance has betrayed us. You. He has betrayed you."

"No," Allura said softly but firmly. "He hasn't betrayed me. He would never betray me."

Alfo shook his head in denial. "No, no, you don't understand," he said. "He isn't pure anymore. He cannot be your Sentinel. He would sooner leave you to die than that filthy Galra he calls a mate."

"He won't betray me," Allura said sternly, glaring at her the thing that wore her father's face. "Just like you aren't my father. My father was a good man. He would never say anything like that."

 _"Allura!"_ Coran continued to shout.

She leaned away from the false Alfor's touch, only to feel the fingers tightened painfully ripping a cry from her throat. Alfor yanked Allura's head back, exposing her throat. She grunted but forced her eyes open to glare at the monster wearing her father's face.

"You don't understand," the thing said, still gazing at the princess in pity. "He cannot be your Sentinel."

"You're dead," she hissed. "And even if you were alive, that's no longer your decision to make."

"There's where you're wrong," the thing said in a mockery of gentleness. "I gave him the title of Sentinel." He shook his head. "I may not be able to take it back now, but I can make sure he doesn't keep it." He brushed his thumb over Allura's cheek. "I'm doing this for you. I'm doing this to protect you."

"You're not protecting me," Allura snapped in fury. "You're doing this because you're a monster."

"The Sentinel _must_ choose his Heir over any and all else _without exceptions,"_ the false Alfor said desperately. "He won't choose you," he said, shaking his head. "He won't. Not anymore. That's not acceptable. He swore an oath. He's broken that oath. The penalty for that is death."

Allura's eyes widened in horror. "That's not true," she whispered. "That's not true," she said louder. "Alteans never kill as a punishment."

"This is an exception."

"There _is_ not exception," Allura cried, fear gripping her heart. "No true Altean would do what you're suggestion."

"I _am_ a true Altean," the illusion shouted in her face, his eyes wide and wild. "I protect the Heir."

 _"You're_ not my Sentinel," Allura shouted back. _"Lance_ is. I'll die before I accept another in his place."

The false Alfor shook his head, distraught. "You can't think like this," he pleaded. "You can't talk like this. You are the Heir-"

"Yes!" Allura snapped. _"I_ am the Heir. And my word if final on this. You will not touch my brother or Coran or any one of my paladins. If you do, I'll destroy you."

"You can't do that," the monster said, smiling down at her sadly. "You don't have it in you. And even if you did, I control this ship." He laughed breathlessly. "I control the Castle of Lions. I won't let you kill me."

He pressed his lips together in a grim smile, pressing a delicate kiss on the princess's forehead, heedless of her struggles and attempts to push him away.

"You are my Heir and I will make sure you live," he swore. "I'll wipe anyone not pure enough to stand in your presence. I'll be your Sentinel until a suitable replacement can be found."

"Frak you, I don't need anyone by my brother!" Allura shouted.

The monster leaned back and gazed down at the struggling princess sadly. "I see Lance has already begun to dirty you," he murmured. "Just like Lauma did. I have to deal with this quickly."

"So what if he picks Keith over me!" Allura screamed furiously. "He's allowed to his live his own life. You lived yours," she said viciously. "You have no right to end his or dictate mine."

"You _must_ live," Alfor said, jerking the princess abruptly in emphatically. "You _must!_ If the Galra are to be destroyed, then _you_ have to be the one to do it. You're the only one pure enough. Lauma dirtied herself when she bedded that vermin and now Lance is doing the same thing. I will _not_ let their filth dirty you."

"I'm not pure," Allura said, fighting tears as her hair was ripped out by the roots from the monster's grip. "You're disgusting."

"I'll prove it to you," the false Alfor said, his eyes alight with a sickening fire. "I'll show you. I'll prove to you Lance isn't worthy of being your Sentinel. I'll show you how filthy he is. You'll see and then you'll understand."

He placed another kiss on her forehead that made her skin crawl and tossed her out of the illusion and through the particle barrier.

She landed on her side, wincing as several hairs ripped out of her head, still tangled around her father's fingers. She gasped and sat up, turning her gaze to where her father's memory stood and was blinded by a golden-red light that cast harsh shadows across the bridge. She blinked rapidly, trying to let her eyes adjust to the intense brightness. When she could see again, she removed her hand and her breath left her.

Hovering directly in the path of the Castle of Lions was a star at the end of its life. She could feel its quintessence spooling up like a bomb waiting to go off. The star would explode in a final burst of brilliance, a final declaration that it had lived, that it was here, before vanishing forever. Her heart dropped as fear began to overwhelm her.

"That's not Altea," she whispered.


	79. PART 3 - 79: Fire Opal

**A/N:** This chapter simply did not want to be written. It was like pulling healthy teeth out of healthy gums, I swear. At one point it took me an hour to write 100 words. Dang characters and their conflicting desires. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Keith has a breakdown and a war for control begins. **  
**

* * *

 **79: Fire Opal - aids in release of anger, recalls past lives, faithfulness, helps with eyesight**

"That's not true."

"Keith, stay back," Shiro said firmly.

"It's not true!" Keithek shouted, pushing himself away from the console he was leaning against. "Lance. Lance, that's not true."

"Keith, stay back!" Shiro commanded louder.

"Quiznak you!" Keithek shouted, shooting a furious glare at the black paladin. "You were ready to kill him," he breathed, stumbling to the still unmoving prince. "Like frell I'm going to listen to you."

"Keith, he's dangerous," Shiro said, trying to explain.

"We're _all_ dangerous," Keithek snapped, turning to face Shiro directly, staggering when he moved too quickly and almost lost his balance. His legs were still having trouble obeying his mental commands. "We fly giant Lions that form the ultimate weapon in the universe, Voltron. We are _all_ dangerous."

 _"I'd listen to the halfbreed, if I were you."_

"Shut up!" Keithek screamed, clapping his hands over his ears and shaking his head. "Shut up, shut up, shut up! This is all your fault! I killed you! You should be dead! Why aren't you dead? Why don't you just _die?!"_

"Keith-"

"Shut _up!"_ Keithek snapped, instantly silencing Hunk. "Don't you dare. Don't you _dare!"_ He glared with narrowed gold and violet eyes. "You tried to stop Shiro when he attacked me the day we met. So why won't you do the same thing for Lance?"

"Why are you defending him?" Pidge yelled angrily, standing. "Even after all he did to you, you're still defending him."

"He's my mate," Keithek said wearily. "I have to."

"That's not healthy," Pidge said seriously. "That's abuse."

"It doesn't matter," Keithek said, slowly moving backwards step by wobbly step until he stood between the prince and the paladins. "You don't understand. It doesn't matter. You can't hurt him."

"He deserves it!"

"Pidge!" Shiro said sharply.

"No, he _doesn't!"_ Keithek said.

"Keith," Shiro said, holding out his hands in a placating manner. "I promise you, we won't hurt Lance. But you have to move."

"I won't."

"Keith ple-"

"I won't!" The red paladin was shaking. "I don't understand. You don't _understand."_ Tears streamed down his eyes. "He's my mate. I can't let him die."

"Why not?" Pidge asked hesitantly.

Keithek hesitated, letting out a huff that was more sob than sigh. "Because… if he dies, so do I," he said. "I can't lose him."

"What?" Hunk breathed in the suddenly silent room. "What do you me-"

Something bright flashed next to them accompanied by what sounded like electricity sparking, yanking everyone's attention away from Lance and Keithek. Unfortunately, no one reacted fast enough to catch the princess before she crashed to the ground in what looked like a painful sprawl. Then the false image of the sparkling blue planet filling the bridge's many view screens vanished, revealing the devastating truth.

"That's no Altea," Allura whispered.

"Princess!" Shiro cried, racing to her side, only to stop short when Lance appeared between them. He activated his weaponized hand and crouched. "Lance, don't hurt her."

"Lance?" Keithek called. "Come back."

"Lance?" the princess gasped, turning around so she could see her brother standing directly behind her. She quickly got to her feet and grabbed her brother's shoulders and tried to turn him around. But he shook off her attempt, continuing to stare at the black paladin with an unreadable gaze. "Lance, look at me. Lance? Lance!"

"Princess," Coran said, taking one of Allura's hands in his and pulling her away. "Lance isn't in his right mind right now."

Allura spun to her advisor, mouth open in shock. "What?" she gasped. "What do you mean?"

"It's the warped quintessence from the Galra crystal," he replied. "It must have corrupted Alfor's memory core and then leaked into Lance."

"But…how?" Allura murmured. She shook her head.

 _"You're the Heir,"_ Sendak's voice said, making Keithek stiffen. _"Don't you know what drives a Sentinel?"_

"Sendak," the princess growled furiously. "Whatever you've done to my father's memory, stop it at once!"

 _"I grow tired of repeating myself,"_ the Galra said, sounding put out. _"I only started these events. It was you and your foolishness which allowed it to reach this point."_

"If you started it, then make it stop," Pidge said.

Sendak's voice laughed. _"I couldn't stop it now if I wanted to."_

Allura hissed in annoyance. "Then you're useless to me," she said dismissively. "Paladins, something's wrong with Father. He's gone mad."

"We figured," Hunk said grimly.

"If Coran's right and it is the warped quintessence," Pidge said, then it's acting like a virus. It'll infect anything it can get to."

"And Lance just drew on the Castle's quintessence to heal himself," Coran murmured, lifting his distraught gaze to the young prince's face. "By the Lions," he murmured. "What has he done?"

"Nothing!" Keithek said. "He hasn't done anything. That isn't Lance."

"Silence! All of you!" Allura cried, effectively quieting everyone. "Right now, we need to focus on stopping this Castle before it flies into that star. If we don't do something to stop him, we'll all die here. Shiro," she said, causing the black paladin to straighten, "go down to the prison pod level and do whatever you need to to stop Sendak. Pidge, Hunk, I need you t-"

She stopped when a hand grabbed her wrist in a painful grip. She looked down at her hand then followed the arm up to her brother's face. "Lance?" she asked carefully.

 _"I can't let you do that, Allura."_

Keithek's eyes grew wide when the voice of Alfor came over the speakers instead of Sendak's. "Let him go," he pleaded. "Let him go!" he said louder.

 _"Silence filthy halfbreed,"_ Alfor said, his holographic form on the pedestal turning to the stunned red paladin. _"Your kind are nothing but a scourge to be eliminated."_

"That's not true!" Allura said angrily. "Keith, don't listen to him. It's the warped quintessence. That's not my father. Those aren't his words."

"Well," Hunk murmured to Pidge next to him, "at least as long as they're talking, the Castle's not moving." The green paladin shrugged slightly and nodded in careful agreement. Shiro's gaze flickered to the yellow paladin in silent agreement.

"I'll go deal with Sendak," the black paladin said. "Hunk, Pidge, protect the princess."

"Damn it," Keithek murmured. "Don't fraking ignore me!"

Heat like nothing he'd never felt before suddenly blazed in his core, setting fire to his nerves and bleeding his vision red. The cold that had been ever so slowly freezing him from the feet up melted under the onslaught of heat and rage. In the back of his mind, he heard a furious roar. Then all conscious thought left him.

* * *

"Keith?" Hunk gasped.

The red paladin didn't respond. He was no longer capable of responding it seemed. The violet of his irises disappeared, swallowed whole by his ebony pupils. He growled and raced across the floor at Shiro, a hateful expression on his face.

 _"So it begins,"_ Sendak's memory said, a note of pride in his voice.

"Protect the princess!" Shiro shouted.

 _"Sentinel,"_ Alfor's holographic form said, _"destroy that thing before it kills the Heir."_

"Ignore that order, Lance," Allura said loudly. _"I_ am your Heir and you are _my_ Sentinel. You don't answer to anyone but me. Stop listening to that monster. He's not our father."

The prince twitched, torn between the two conflicting commands. The odd look in his eyes flickering.

 _"That was and order, Sentinel,"_ Alfor said louder. _"Stop that monster!"_

"You will do no such thing, Lance," Allura said louder. "You will listen to me. Do not listen to that thing. It is _not_ our father and you will _not_ obey it. Is that clear?"

The prince began shaking, confusion becoming evident in his expression. He blinked. Keith was in the middle of attacking the other paladins in a rage. The look in the halfbreed's eyes was the same as when Keith attacked him in the pod before Lance's destructive temper took over.

 _"Kill him, Sentinel."_

Father?

"Do not!"

What?

 _"Obey me, Sentinel!"_ Alfor's voice said, ringing in Lance's head. _"Do your duty and get rid of that creature. Protect your Heir."_

Lance blinked, his head twitching side to side in a minute shudder. This was wrong. He felt sick to his stomach. He entire body ached and it felt like sludge was flowing through his veins. It felt…surprisingly good. It was a rush that left him gasping and need more. It was addicting. It was dangerous.

Something shining like strands of golden thread flickered in the corner of his eye, just barely visible, but he couldn't turn his head to look at it. The quintessence filling him made his skin dance with sensitivity. It felt like lightning during a storm. Gold. He had to obey. But which command? Shining.

 _"Obey me, Sentinel."_

Sentinel. He was the Sentinel.

"Do not!"

The Heir. He obeyed only the Heir. Nothing mattered but the Heir.

 _"I gave you your title, Sentinel, and I can take it back. Protect the Heir and destroy that Galra!"_

Galra! His gaze locked on the purple skinned creature attacking the others in the room. He knew them. They were…friends. He had to protect them from the Galra. The Galra. The…

The…

…he knew that Galra…

…he knew…

"Keith?"

* * *

Coran stared at the prince with wide eyes, hope returning to his weary heart. "Lance?" he called softly.

 _"Sentinel!"_

"Lance, listen to me," Allura said in a pleading voice. "Do not listen to him. Listen to me. Lance. Lance? Brother?"

The prince stiffened and slowly turned his head to his sister. His eyes were wide and confused. Coran could only hope that this meant the prince was fighting.

"I…" he said in a soft, unsure voice. "I know…him."

Allura studied her brother closely, before whirling to the former king's hologram in terrible fury. "Whatever you've done to him, stop it now," she commanded.

 _"Enough!"_ Alfor's voice roared furiously. _"I told you I would prove to you Lance is no longer suitable to be your Sentinel."_

"He _is_ my Sentinel," Allura said. "I will accept no other."

 _"You are too pure, my daughter,"_ Alfor said sadly. _"Sentinel."_

Lance blinked, turning his head to his father's holographic form in innocent bewilderment. "Father?" he called.

 _"This is my last command to you as the former Sentinel."_ Lance gazed up at Alfor with a hopeful expression. _"Choose: the Heir of Altea, or that monster you call mate."_

The prince's face fell into one of despair. He bowed his head and began shaking.

"What?" Allura cried in shock. Before she could say anything more, someone grabbed her shoulders and spun her around until her advisor's face was directly in front of hers. "Coran?"

"I know how to fix this," Coran said suddenly, his purple eyes boring into Allura's soft turquoise. "I figured it out."

"Wha-"

"Sendak said he started this," Coran said quickly, tightening his grip on the princess's shoulders to keep her attention. "We assumed he was lying, but what if he was telling the truth. What if all of this began with that Galra crystal? If that's true then the Castle's quintessence defenses should have been able to quarantine and eliminate the foreign quintessence soon after we removed the source."

"Y-yes, but it didn't, Coran," Allura said. "It-"

"Yes," the advisor agreed, nodding, "because we immediately put Sendak in stasis and began drawing out his quintessence into the memory core."

Allura's eyes grew round. "Which was connected to the Castle's systems."

"All Sendak needed to do was break the Castle's quarantines and give the foreign quintessence something to latch onto," Coran said, lifting his gaze to the former king's hologram. "King Alfor's memory core."

Allura paled in understanding. "But…Can't we break the connection?" she asked desperately.

The advisor shook his head. "I doubt it," he admitted sadly. "It's likely the warped quintessence has become so entangled in your father's quintessence that it'll be impossible to separate." He sighed. "Removing one would inevitably spell the end of the other."

A cry of pain startled them out of their conversation. Allura turned to the voice only to have her head yanked back to Coran. "You have to destroy Alfor's memory core," he said. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. But that's the only way to stop this before it goes too far. You have to do this, Allura. _You_ have to do this."

Tears were streaming down her face as the weight of reality settled on her shoulders. She shook her head. "No," she wept. "No I can't I- Coran he's my _father!"_

"You said it yourself," her advisor said. "That," he pointed to the former king's image, "is not your father. Your father died keeping you and Lance safe 10,000 periods ago. Remember him well. Do not remember that perversion continue to exist in place of the memory you carry of the real thing."

Allura nodded, sobbing as she stepped back.

"I choose Keith," Lance said behind her.

Startled, she turned around only to see her brother run into the battle between the paladins. "Lance?" she called. "Lance!"

"Allura!" Coran said sternly. "Go to the holodeck and destroy Alfor's memory core. Do that and this will stop."

She didn't want to. She didn't want to leave her brother, her f-father… But it wasn't her father, was it? She knew it wasn't. She _knew_ it. But how long had she been fooled? When did her father's quintessence cease to be, overwhelmed by the warped quintessence from Sendak's Galra crystal? When did Alfor's memory die and that monster take his place?

 _"I told you, daughter,"_ Alfor said, sounding tired but sure. _"Lance is no longer suitable to be your Sentinel. He is tainted, just like Lauma before him. They both bear the same stain. It's a pity history must repeat itself."_

Allura tightened her jaw, gathered up her skirt, and ran for the door. "Shiro," she called as she ran. "With me. Now."

"But I-"

"Now, Shiro!" she snapped. "It's time we finished this nonsense."

"Yes ma'am," she heard before the black paladin's footsteps joined hers.

* * *

"This is ridiculous," Pidge grunted, clinging to her bayard.

She may be the smallest paladin, but that gave her some advantages. She was quick and could slip under her opponent's guard simply because they forgot her size and ended up underestimating her. It had proven a useful thing in her battles against the Galra. Apparently, unless you were tall and buff, like Shiro or another Galra, you were beneath the Empire's notice. Too bad this little paladin had a nasty bite.

She tossed her bayard at Keith, satisfied when the glowing green blade struck the red paladin's shoulder electrocuting him. She was sometimes upset that her bayard had chosen to take the form of a glorified taser. Now was not one of those times. Her weapon may not be deadly the majority of the time, but she was glad for that now. She didn't want to kill Keith.

She knew the moment Keith changed that something was wrong. If she didn't know better, she would've said he was suffering from a psychotic break. She wasn't as close to Keith as she preferred to be but that didn't mean she was happy he was in pain. Seeing him suffer like this now and like he had been before he snapped, after Lance said all those horrible things to him in the pod, hurt her like little else did.

She resented the prince. This was all his fault. If he hadn't lashed out at Keith like he had, if he hadn't led the red paladin on like a piece of meat dangling just out of reach of a starving child, if he had just let Keith down gently, then none of this would have happened. And what the fucking hell was up with Keith's if-he-dies-I-die speech? What kind of soulmate nonsense was that? This was all absolutely ridiculous and she was sick and tired of dealing with it.

She darted aside when Keith struck out at her with his claws only to meet Hunk's heavy bayard. Hunk had no fired on the red paladin yet and Pidge honestly doubted he would. Judging by what happened to Lance, she doubted Hunk would ever be able to fire his bayard at another paladin or any person again without a significant drive.

The kind-hearted yellow paladin would probably have nightmares about what he did for days after this, maybe even longer. Hurting a friend went against everything Hunk stood for. Even though, in Pidge's book, Lance deserved everything he got, it was highly unlikely Hunk agreed. He was too soft. Hunk and his bleeding heart would probably want to help a bleeding Galra.

She couldn't bring herself to feel angry. It was traits like that that made Pidge value Hunk's friendship. She could always count on him to be her moral compass. Her compass had been thrown completely out of whack ever since her brother introduced her to psychological thrillers. Hunk kept her as close to the straight and narrow as he could. It wasn't perfect, but it was close.

Keith grunted in pain and leapt back to nurse his bleeding hand. He was still favoring his left side where Shiro had gotten a jab in with his inactive mechanical arm. Whatever made the black paladin keep his weaponized arm deactivated during this fight even though they all knew it would've given them an advantage was beyond Pidge.

Then Lance appeared and Pidge saw red. She gritted her teeth and snarled at the prince only to gasp when Lance knocked Hunk out of the way of Keith's claws. Strangely, Keith didn't hesitate to attack Lance either.

"Look out!" Pidge shouted.

She swung her bayard so the buzzing green blade separated from the handle and flew through the air on its long cord. The blade curved around Keith's leg and Pidge yanked with all her strength, knocking the berserking red paladin off his feet. The Altean prince dove in Keith's path and caught him before he struck the floor. Keith struggled to get free but Lance held him tight which suited Pidge just fine.

She frowned and willed her bayard to send several volts of electricity into the red paladin and, since Keith was in contact with Lance, into the prince's body as well. Both boys tensed as the electric current zinged through their bodies. When the current stopped, Lance slumped forward still refusing to let go of Keith. Both paladins were gasping and spasming.

 _"A pity really,"_ Sendak said over the speakers. _"I really do like your eyes."_

Lance jerked, curling in on himself. It took Pidge a second to realize she wasn't electrocuting him and that Lance was truly in pain.

 _"Wrong choice,"_ Alfor said simply.


	80. PART 3 - 80: Tektite

**A/N:** I should let you know that I almost cried while writing this chapter. Me. The witch. I almost cried while writing this chapter. Why? Because I looped this song the entire time I wrote this: "Goodbye Father" from the Voltron: Legendary Defender OST. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Allura weeps, Shiro breaks, and Hunk sees starlight.

* * *

 **80: Tektite - wisdom through life experiences, prevents emotional scars and memories, used with moldavite to enhance  
**

She didn't have to wait for Shiro when she ran to the lift. He was right behind her. She quickly pressed the button which would call the lift to the bridge. The doors opened immediately and she silently praised her good luck. She rushed inside, Shiro stepping in beside her. She pressed the buttons for the required floors and turned to her paladin.

"Shiro, I need you to deal with Sendak," she said. "Get rid of his memory core. Use anything you deem necessary, just stop him."

"Yes ma'am," she said, nodding.

When the doors to the floor where the holodeck was opened, she ran out as fast as she could and didn't look back. The lights immediately shut off leaving her in the dark. She grinned. She'd grown up in these halls. She knew where she was going with or without the light to guide her. She simply held out a hand and let her fingers brush the wall as she ran until they came to the door to the holodeck.

The access panel was dark, probably another defense mechanism created by the distorted quintessence controlling her father's memory core. She dropped to her knees and worked the cover of the panel free. It took her a few tries to create a short circuit using the crystals, shocking herself in the process. But the door slid open and that was all that mattered.

She dropped the crystal and slipped inside just as the door slammed shut behind her. It was close, too close. Several strands of her hair ended up stuck between the door and the wall. She had to grab her hair and rip the strands free bit by bit before turning to the holodeck. Her father's memory core sat in its slot glowing a deceptively gentle white. If it wasn't for the stray strands of purple pulsing with life throughout the memory core's quintessence, she would have begun to question Coran's conclusion.

She moved slowly into the room, her heart breaking with each step closer to her goal. Her turquoise eyes could not tear away from the contaminated memory core. Even when the holographic form of her father, this one fuzzy and not as solid as the one on the bridge had been, appeared above the memory core, she didn't stop her advance.

 _"Allura!"_ the holograph pleaded desperately. _"You can't do this! You'll destroy everything I've worked for."_

She ignored it.

 _"Do it, Allura,"_ her father said, his voice soft and gentle, just like she remembered it.

Startled, she looked up at the hologram directly for the first time. "F-father?" she breathed hopefully.

 _"You must, Allura,"_ her father said, his eyes pained and his expression broken. _"It's the only way. No!"_ Her father's holographic form, tensed suddenly, his expression changing completely to one of fear and anger. _"Do not do this! After all I've done to protect you, to protect Altea- Do it quickly."_ Alfor, her father, returned. _"Please. It's all I can do to keep it from harming you. Destroy it while you still can. No! Stop it! Do it, Allura. Please!"_

With tear filled eyes, Allura place her hands on the top of the memory core to open it and release the quintessence stored inside when-

 _"Allura." Her father was cradling her as a newborn, smiling proudly and allowing her to grasp his finger with her tiny hands._

 _"Allura!" He was scolding her for making fun of her big sister's mud covered clothes._

 _"Allura." He tried to hide his smile as she cried over her stained dress._

 _"Allura!" He laughed at her temper tantrum over her freshly dyed red hair._

 _"Allura." He tried to encourage her before she went to the purification ceremonies before that final, dreadful juniberry festival._

 _"Allura." He whispered through his tears as she lay half asleep in her bed the night before the last day she would see him alive._

"This isn't real," she whispered, pushing through the flashes and catches of memory that bled into her mind, toying with her emotions. This was a low blow. It ripped her heart to shreds to see this laid out before her. Worse, she knew that was exactly why the viral quintessence was doing this. It was a last-ditch effort to prevent her from doing the inevitable. She would destroy the infection that was destroying her family.

Her family.

She paused as the weight of that one thought struck her heart. Her family. Her paladins had become her family. Shiro, Pidge, Hunk, Keith… They had carved their own places in her heart right next to Lance and Coran in such a way that they could never be replaced. They had become her friends, her siblings, her children, her family in every way that mattered.

They had been ready to die for her and her cause without ever knowing her before, just because of what had happened to one of their own. This race, these Humans, were still finding ways to surprise her. Just when she thought she was beginning to understand them, they turned the tables on her. They kept her on her toes.

And she loved every second of it.

Watching them interact with Coran, watching Keith when he was around Lance, watching Hunk and Pidge argue about the pros and cons of seat belts and whether they were actually needed in the Voltron Lions, and never feeling left out herself…

This was family. _Her_ family.

And she would be damned if she let something as despicable as Sendak or Zarkon or some distorted quintessence take that away from her.

 _"Allura."_

She met the eyes of her father's flickering form with steely determination. He smiled.

 _"I'm so proud of you."_

Her tears brimmed her eyes and her jaw worked to halt any sobs from escaping as her heart slowly broke into as many pieces as periods past since she first entered the cryopod.

"I'm so sorry, father," she whispered, in a wavering voice.

His smiled softened. _"Don't be,"_ he said. _"I understand. Tell Lance, I'm sorry."_

She nodded and tightened her grip on the metal lid she could still feel through the mental illusion created by the memory core. It took all of her strength to rip the lid off, shattering the glass canister of the memory core. Instantly, the illusory word faded like fog in the sunlight leaving her alone in the dim holodeck. She lifted her gaze, following the path of the purple-tinged white quintessence as it rose through the air, phasing through the ceiling of the holodeck and vanishing from her sight and life forever.

She wept.

* * *

 _"When all hope is lost, still you keep fighting."_

Shiro ignored the Galra's words that rang through the speakers in the lift. He refused to cover his ears. He wouldn't give the bastard the satisfaction.

 _"Why fight at all, when you can join us?"_

"Because I'm not like you!" Shiro shouted angrily, when the lift door opened on the prison pod level.

 _"We have more in common than you care to admit. Just look at your hand."_

Despite his efforts, Shiro's eyes flickered to his metallic arm. The familiar feelings of disgust, self-loathing, and nausea flooded his mind and body. It took more effort than it should have to quell the sudden, powerful urge to vomit where he stood.

 _"You've been broken and reformed, blessed with a weapon designed by the Druids.. They're good at what they do. I'm sure the little prince would tell you that himself if he wasn't occupied at the moment."_

"That doesn't matter," the black paladin said fiercely, skidding to a stop in front of Sendak's prison pod. The Galra was just as lifeless as he'd always appeared since they first put him in here. That had been a mistake he would make sure never happened ever again.

 _"It certainly mattered mere tecks ago, Champion."_

Shiro flinched at his gladiator name, clenching his fists. "You're twisting everything!" he shouted at the still body.

 _"Twisting?"_ Sendak said in amusement. _"You were ready to murder the little prince in cold blood without trying to save him first. You even used your hand to fight him because you know it's the strongest part of you."_

"No, that's not true," Shiro said.

 _"Who's the liar now, Champion? You reject the truth that disagrees with your preset prejudices, accepting only the truth that agrees with your bias. You're a hypocrite."_

"I'm _not!"_

 _"You_ **_are!_** _Color it how you like, Champion. You acted like a true Galra. You should be proud."_

"You're wrong."

 _"Then why haven't you destroyed me yet?"_

Shiro flinched, unable to look away from the frozen body to the memory core holding the source of Sendak's quintessence.

 _"You can't because you know I speak the truth. You're already a member of the Galra Empire."_

"No."

 _"Embrace it. Don't be ashamed of it. You're stronger because of it."_

"Not!"

 _"You knew the Druid's gift to you was the strongest part of you. That's why you use it as your weapon of choice. You knew that to defeat the little Druid prince, you would need the weapon the Galra Druids gave you."_

"You're wrong!" Adrenaline rushed through Shiro's veins, sending his nerves alight with an electrifying fire, much like what he felt before every arena battle.

 _"Day in and day out, you rely on it,"_ Sendak pressed, as if speaking into Shiro's ear directly _. "The arena may have changed but you are still the Champion. You will always **be** the Champion. The best of the gladiators in Zarkon's service."_

"That's not me!" Shiro shouted in vehement denial, his eyes wild and frantic.

 _"The others are mere children compared to you. Even the little prince hasn't seen what you've seen. You've watched the weak fall to your Druid-given strength. You've done more for the Galra Empire than you ever did for those pathetic paladins."_

"I'm not listening to you," he whimpered, covering his ears with both his flesh and metallic hands.

 _"Face it, Champion. You can never defeat Zarkon. You're already a member of the Galra Empire. He's already defeated you."_

The cool metal bit into his skin like a razor sharp knife made of solid ice leaving his gasping and shivering. Images, thoughts, sounds, sensations, emotions, voices, tumbled through his mind in a tumultuous chaos that was drowning him. He was losing himself.

 _"You're a monster, Champion; a monster of Zarkon. You can never be a Voltron paladin. But then, considering who the Black Lion chose as its previous paladin, I shouldn't be surprised that it chose another monster to take your predecessor's place."_

"I'm not listening," Shiro whispered in a despairing whimper. "I'm not listening. I'm not listening. I'm not listen."

 _"Look at you,"_ Sendak purred. _"A monster, a Druid, and a Galra, halfbreed though he may be. You already have the beginnings of one of Zarkon's best strike teams."_

He breathing was coming in increasingly shallow gasps. His chest was tightening painfully as something clenched around his heart making his pulse roar in his ears. But no matter how loud the voices in his head or his thunderous pulse were, they couldn't drown out Sendak's traitorous words. They were true. So true.

No. No they weren't. Don't- Stop. Stop it. It's not true. Stop it!

 _"Did the princess ever tell you how the Great War began? Did you know the little Druid prince was there? Did you know he watched as his family, his people suffered and died around him and he did **nothing** to stop it? Did you know it was the Alteans who made the first move? Did you know you're fighting for the wrong side?"_

Wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrongwrongwrongwrongwrongstopitstopitpleasejuststop!

"Please," he choked, struggling to catch his breath as his lungs felt like they would collapse under the pressure and his heart threatened to erupt from his chest. His body jolted erratically as shudders wracked his body. He couldn't move. He could barely breathe. The images, the memories, they wouldn't stop. They wouldn't stop. Make them stop. Stop. Stop! Just-

 _"Why fight Zarkon, when you can join him?"_

"Stop it!" he screamed.

His focus returned to his wide eyes when he heard the sound of crunching glass. He was stunned to find his Druid-enhanced fist planted firmly against the glass-like shield separating him from Sendak.

 _"I like your eyes. They shine with the same fear I saw in the little Druid prince, right before I took my prize from him. Just like I'm taking my prize from you now."_

Shiro's muscles ached from the tension and he still couldn't breathe. The accursed purple glow began to radiate from his Druid-enhanced fist. He couldn't stop it. He couldn't control it. He was losing.

 _"I took the little Druid prince's eye, to always remember the fear in them. From you, I take your sanity."_

Against his will, Shiro lifted his terror-stricken gaze to Sendak's face. This isn't real. This is a dream. It's a dream. Make it stop. Make it stop, make it stop, makeitstop! His mind latched onto his terror and filled his vision with a thing of nightmares.

He screamed and smashed the memory core to bits with his Druidic weapon, ripping it from its base and slamming it against the shield protecting Sendak. The metal cap tore off and slapped a touch-activated panel on the left side of the prison pod. A second later, the prison pod, the pulverized remains of the memory core, and any visible sign of Sendak vanished, ejected into the vacuum of space where it would remain forever.

He didn't notice. He could only just catch himself on his hands and knees when his legs gave out beneath him.

"Make it stop," he pleaded in a weak, shaky whisper. "Make it stop. You're wrong. I'm not a monster. I can't be a monster. I'm not the Champion. I am Shirogane Takashi. I'm not a monster. I'm the Black paladin. Orewa Shirogane Takashi. Orewa bakemono ja nai! Orewa bakemono _ja nai!"_

* * *

When Lance screamed, Hunk jumped into action. He turned his bayard weapon on the holographic form of Alfor, firing a blast of yellow energy at the particle barrier protecting him. The barrier held.

But then the hologram vanished and the particle barrier dissipated. Surprised, Hunk lowered his bayard. The dying star now filled the entire room's view screens.

"She did it," Coran murmured just loud enough for the yellow paladin to hear. He looked at the advisor who fell to his knees in relief. "I'm sorry princess. I'm so sorry."

"We still need to stop the ship's descent and get the fuck out of here," Pidge snapped, freeing the glowing green cord of her bayard from Keith's legs. "Coran, fly this thing out before that star explodes or we'll all die anyway!"

But Coran shook his head in weary dismay. "I can't," he whispered.

"What?" Hunk gasped.

"What do you mean you can't?" Pidge cried, yanking her bayard blade back into its proper place.

The advisor shook his head wearily. "I can't fly the Castle of Lions," he said. "Only Allura can. Only the Heir can fly the Castle."

"But..." Pidge slumped, staring up at the star in despair.

"But that doesn't make sense," Hunk said, powering down his bayard. "King Alfor was just the Sentinel, right? If only the Heir can fly the Castleship, then how could _he_ have flown it?"

Coran blinked, and looked at the yellow paladin in shock. "He could mimic the former Heir's quintessence," he said, hope kindling in his eyes. "Every Sentinel can mimic their Heir's quintessence."

"Then Lance can fly us out," Hunk said.

"Yeah, that's not going to happen," Pidge said grimly, looking at where the prince was crumbled on the floor. Hunk followed his friend's gaze and winced when he saw Lance clutching a still twitching Keith in one hand and his right eye with his other hand, quivering and gasping.

"Then we have to find Allura and-"

Hunk turned to the advisor when he suddenly fell silent. Coran's gaze was locked on something across the room near the floor. When the yellow paladin looked over there as well, he gasped and reactivated his bayard.

"Wait! Stop!" Coran cried, leaping up and grabbing the yellow paladin's bayard with his arms, leaning his full weight on the weapon preventing Hunk from aiming it properly. "That's- That's quintessence!"

"If it's that Alfor guys, then let Hunk blast it into oblivion," Pidge hissed. "Or better yet."

She reeled back and swung her bayard, willing the buzzing blade to fly free of the handle, trailed by the glowing green cord. Her aim was impeccable. The blade struck the center of the swirling orb of glowing quintessence, and met no resistance.

"What?" she gasped.

"Quintessence can't be attacked by physical weapons," Coran said.

"Great," Hunk huffed. "So how do we stop it?"

Before he could answer, the orb slowed its ascent and began floating towards Lance and Keith. Hunk powered down his bayard causing Coran to drop to the floor and ran to Pidge's side. But he was too late. The orb floated up to the prince and the fallen halfbreed, and exploded in a brilliance of white threads.

The threads of quintessence enveloped the red paladin and the prince. Keith tensed, then fell still, his face falling slack in peaceful sleep. Lance's body convulsed, cutting of a cry before it could escape his throat. Then his face, too, fell slack as threads of deep violet streamed out of him only to be absorbed by the white threads. But it didn't seem to hurt him.

"Coran?" Hunk said, unsure of what to make of the sight. "What's happening?"

"It's Alfor," the advisor breathed, a tear falling down his cheek. "He's removing the tainted quintessence from Lance."

Hunk's face slackened in surprise.

"He's trying to save him," Pidge said, her eyes wide.

The stark white threads retreated slowly from Lance, allowing him to slump in exhaustion. Lance shuddered and lifted his head, gazing at the orb of white longingly. He reached out with the hand that had been covering his pained eye and tried to touch the orb.

For a moment, a small tendril of white thread looped lovingly around his finger, then the orb rose out of reach and faded like mist on a riverbank.

No one spoke. Lance dropped his hand, running his fingers tenderly through Keith's tangled hair before easing him off his lap and getting to his feet. Quietly, he made his way to the center of the bridge and stepped up onto the pedestal.

"Coran," he said softly, "put Keith in a healing pod please. Hunk, find my sister. She'll need you. Pidge, find Shiro. Don't leave them alone." He placed his palms on the control columns by his side and began glowing a soft, pure white. "Don't leave them alone, please."

Hunk couldn't find any words but he wasn't alone. He and Pidge turned to Coran for guidance. When he nodded, Pidge hesitated only a moment longer to shoot a distrustful glare at the prince's back before nodding and racing out of the bridge to find Shiro. Hunk turned to follow, but paused at the door when he realized Coran had joined him with Keith.

He turned back in time to see the entire bridge suddenly glow the same white as the prince. The glow formed a halo around everything including Coran crouched by Keith's side. Hunk held out a hand and lost his breath when he saw the same halo around his dark skin. Then the red-gold of the dying star was eclipsed by the deep blue of a wormhole. The Castle lurched forward, before being engulfed in the wormhole.

That glow… It was almost like starlight.


	81. PART 3 - 81: Moldavite

**A/N:** This is mostly the immediate aftermath of last chapter, so there's a lot of moping attempts at recovery. The serious recovery will begin next chapter. Just in time to begin saying goodbye to _Crystal_ and say "hello" to its upcoming sequel tentatively titled _Mirror_. If any of you have a better idea for a title for the sequel to this fic, let me know in the comments. ^_^

 **Chapter summary:** In which Lance is empty, Coran and Hunk find a purpose, and Romelle decides to reach out. **  
**

* * *

 **81: Moldavite - catalyst for important changes in life, use to enhance effects of tektite**

When the Castle of Lions broke free of the wormhole, Lance released the breath he'd been holding in one long, heavy gust. He removed his hands from the control columns and stepped down from the pedestal. He was strangely stead on his feet despite how detached and tired he was. It felt like he was seeing everything from somewhere else. Everything felt distant, unfeeling, neutral. It was…odd.

He knew he should be feeling drained from the abuse his mind, emotions, and body had suffered, but he didn't. He just felt empty. The bridge was silent and he didn't have the heart to disturb it. He didn't have the heart for much of anything right now. It was all he could do to just keep breathing in and out, in and out, in and out.

He barely registered when he turned and walked off the bridge and into the lift. He didn't remember pressing any buttons on the lift, just stepping out when the door slid open again. It felt like floating even though he knew he was walking. He could barely remember the reason for coming down here. It was a pull he couldn't resist. It felt like he would wallow in this emptiness if he didn't come here.

Where was here?

It took some effort to lift his head and take in the room he stepped into. The room was perfectly circular and the same silvery steel color with the familiar turquoise lighting accenting the Altean designs. Eight columns rose from the floor to support the weight of the upper levels of the Castleship. In the center of the room, a circular platform rose a third of a span from the floor and held eight healing pods, all but one of which were powered down.

The sole pod currently active gave off a soft, comforting turquoise light befitting the room's ambience. Like a moth to a flame, Lance migrated towards the glow. A shadow blocked the light from the center of the pod creating a halo around the shadow. The Altenoid shadow. He never noticed when the first tear slipped down his cheek, but he did know it was the only one. No more tears followed. Nothing followed.

There was nothing to follow.

There was just…nothing.

Empty.

He placed his hand over the sleeping shadow's form and may or may not have whispered a name. He couldn't remember. He did remember the chill from the heling pod's shield sink into his back through his shirt when he turned and leaned against it. Slowly, he slid down so he sat on the floor with his back still pressed to the pod's shielded front. He vaguely remembered pulling his legs up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them, grabbing hold of his wrists to hold the position.

The last thing he remembered was closing his eyes and resting his forehead on his knees.

* * *

Coran stopped calling the prince's name when he realized he wasn't being heard. Instead, he stood next to the healing pod he had just finished programming for the red paladin's care and watched. Lance's eyes were hazy and unfocused, but they were fixed nonetheless one Keith's unconscious form sleeping inside the healing pod. When Lance curled up at the base of the pod, Coran gently rested a hand on the prince's shoulder and sighed.

"I'm sorry, son," he said sadly.

He knew he wouldn't be heard, but it was all he could do, all the comfort he could offer to a terrified child. He gave Lance's shoulder a small squeeze before leaving the pod chamber in search of Allura and Shiro. He hadn't heard anything from either Hunk or Pidge so he could only hope everything was fine. Or, well, as fine as it could be given the circumstances. He did throw one last look over his shoulder at Lance and Keith before leaving.

The walk to the holodeck wasn't long at all. He could hear the princess's sobs from the hallway and cautiously poked his head into the holodeck. Allura was curled in Pidge arms and crying on the green paladin's shoulder. Behind both of them was the shattered remains of King Alfor's memory core. The sight of it brought the events of the past our back to the forefront of Coran's mind. He shuddered and looked away only to see Pidge looking up at him, her eyes wide and filled with confusion. This was out of her depth and she knew it. To be honest, they were both out of their depth.

The advisor merely sighed and lifted his eyebrows in a silent offer to help. Pidge pressed her lips together in a thin line and considered the offer before shaking her head. She turned back to the princess in her arms and began rubbing Allura's back in a comforting rhythm.

Again, Coran felt useless. Nevertheless, he nodded and retreated from the holodeck, taking care to make sure the door closed behind him. The was only one more place where he may be needed, where he could possibly help. He stepped back into the lift and rode it down to the prison pod level.

He heard the voices before he laid eyes on the two paladins. Shiro was on his knees covering his ears with his hands and chanting to himself in a language that took a tick or two to translate. Curious. The black paladin must not be speaking the same language he had been until now. Either way, that wasn't important right now.

"Hunk!" he cried, hurrying to the agitated yellow paladin. "What's going on? What happened to Shiro?"

"I don't know," Hunk said, flailing helplessly. "He was like this when I got here. He's not speaking English and he won't listen to me. I think he's having a meltdown."

"A what?" Coran asked, unfamiliar with that term. He dropped to his knees by Hunk's side and moved to grab Shiro by the shoulders.

"Don't!" Hunk cried, grabbing Coran's arms before he could make contact. "Don't touch him from behind. He's having an episode."

"A what?" Coran repeated. "I don't know what that means."

"He's not _here_ , Coran," Hunk said. "Don't freak out, don't touch him from behind, don't ask if he's okay, and do _not_ tell him to calm down. Just talk to him slowly using soft tones and encouraging words. Don't talk down to him but talk him down from this. Do you understand?"

Coran blinked. "I-Yes," he said hesitantly. "Yes, I think I do."

"Okay. Then let me go first," Hunk said. He scooted back so he sat next to Shiro and placed his hand on the floor directly in Shiro's line of sight, making sure Shiro saw it before speaking. "Shiro?" he called in a gentle tone. "Shiro, it's me, Hunk. Can you hear me?"

The black paladin didn't answer but his chanting eased. Coran's translator was having trouble translating the black paladin's garbled words into Altean but he could catch snatches of familiar sounds. He was the royal adviser. Not being able to understand what was being said prevented him from doing his job. As the adviser, it was his duty to help any way he could. Yet another reason why he hated feeling useless.

Coran followed Hunk's lead and placed his hand on the floor directly in Shiro's sight and spoke. "Shiro. It's me, Coran. I need you to lift your head for me. Can you do that?"

Shiro shuddered and shook his head, the litany of garbled words continuing their unbroken stream.

"I need to make sure you're not hurt," Coran said. "I'm not mad. Neither is Hunk. You aren't in trouble. You haven't done anything wrong."

"I tried to kill him," Shiro said. "I tried to kill him. I didn't even- He was right. Sendak was right. No. NO!" he shouted, shaking his head vehemently. "He was wrong. He was _wrong!"_

"Don't listen to Sendak," Hunk said. "You can't trust anything Sendak said."

"Yes," Coran said firmly. "All he did was twist our words and actions. You did nothing wrong, Shiro. _Nothing."_

Shiro shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut in an effort to cut himself off from the world.

"Shiro," Coran said.

No response. Taking a chance, Coran lifted the hand he had in Shiro's sight, moving it slowly so he didn't accidentally catch the black paladin off guard, and gently eased Shiro upright. He shifted over so he sat in front of the black paladin and placed his other hand on Shiro's other shoulder, holding him upright. He met Shiro's frightened dark gray eyes with his own violet and frown worriedly.

"Shiro," he tried again. "Please listen to me." He waited until he had the paladin's full attention before continuing. "You are not at fault. Nothing you did was wrong. Everything that Galra said was a lie."

Shiro's head twitched side to side in a minute head shake of disagreement.

The advisor sighed. "Okay," he said, heaving a sigh. "Why don't you tell me what he said. I'll listen to you. I won't interrupt. You can talk all you want for as long as you want. I'll listen for as long as you need me to." Slowly, he moved his hands up to the paladin's face, resting his thumbs at the corners of Shiro's eyes, right where the eyescales would have been had Shiro been Altean.

"I promise, anything you tell me will be in confidence," Coran said. "No one will hear a word of what you say unless you give me your express permission. But you need to tell me. Let me just be there for you. Will you do that?"

The wild-eyed expression on the black paladin's face began to fade, but didn't go away entirely. However, Shiro's pupils began to retract, revealing more and more of the dark gray irises until the advisor was sure Shiro was beginning to overcome his panic. The sight was an immense relief to Coran.

"Would you do that?" Coran asked again.

Shiro just stared into the advisor's eyes, silent and shaking, for several ticks before eventually nodding. Coran smiled and gently encouraged Shiro to lean forward and into a hug. When the black paladin finally rested his forehead on Coran's shoulder, he whimpered and the advisor wrapped his arms around him.

"Hunk," Coran said to the nervous and helpless looking yellow paladin sitting next to them. "I have things under control here for the time being. I need you to do me a favor. I need you to watch Lance."

"Lance?" Hunk asked. "Why? Isn't he flying the Castle?"

"Not anymore, no," Coran said, shaking his head. "He's with Keith in the healing pod chamber." His eyes saddened. "Make sure he doesn't do anything… Make sure he doesn't hurt himself," he finished weakly.

Hunk grimaced but nodded. He obediently stood and began making his way back to the lift. "Hey," he said, pausing at the lift door and looking back over his shoulder at the advisor. "Thanks for helping him, Coran."

"Don't mention it," Coran said with a smile.

He watched Hunk smile weakly before stepping into the lift and leaving him alone with Shiro. He sighed and settled in. This was going to be a long night.

* * *

When Hunk found Lance still and unresponsive, he took a seat next to the prince. After a couple minutes of nothing, Hunk looped an arm around Lance's body and pulled him close so the prince slumped against him. Neither paladin moved for a while after that. It wasn't until Hunk was half asleep from exhaustion that he felt Lance move.

He opened his eyes and looked down at the Altean prince by his side. Lance had fallen asleep and snuggled up to Hunk in his sleep. His eyes were shut tight but tears leaked out from beneath his dark eyelashes and his mouth was pressed in a thin line. The scar from Lance's right eye stood out starkly against his dark skin. It always reminded Hunk of how much they'd already been through. They'd only been at this for what? A month? Maybe? Maybe a little longer? Maybe less?

It broke Hunk's heart that he couldn't do more to help his friends. He hated seeing them get hurt. He didn't want to get hurt himself; he wasn't a masochist, after all. But he didn't want to see them get hurt. So if all he could do was sit here and be a pillar of comfort for the no doubt hurting prince, then he was proud to do it. He would do it for anyone on his team. They were his family. Nothing came before family.

Family.

He missed his family on Earth. They would always have a place in his heart and he was certain Pidge's mom and Commander Iverson would pass on his message to them. But for now, Team Voltron was his family. He lived with them, ate with them, slept with them, fought with them. They shared a bond with their Lions and with each other that was unique and special in so many ways.

Team Voltron was his family. They wouldn't replace his Earth family; that was impossible. But they were now a part of his family.

A faint beep startled him from his thoughts and he looked up to find the source of the sound. Hovering hesitantly by the entrance to the healing pod chamber was Pidge's hoverbot Rover. It was keeping to the shadows of one of the columns as if afraid to come too close. The poor thing.

"Hey Rover," Hunk said softly, trying not to wake up Lance. Even though he doubted that was possible consider the soft snores he heard escaping the prince's throat. "You okay?"

Rover beeped and hesitantly floated out from behind the column and further into the room. It turned its camera eye so it took in Keith's unconscious body inside the healing pod as well as Prince Lance's sleeping form leaning against Hunk. It beeped an inquiry that Hunk was pretty sure he understood.

"Yeah," he said. "They're asleep. It's been a long day."

He managed a weak smile for the robot which just stared at him silently in return. After a few seconds, Rover floated closer and descended so it could settle comfortably in Hunk's lap cuddled close to his and Lance's stomachs. It made the yellow paladin's smile wider and more sincere.

"Just keep it down, okay?" Hunk said "We're going to take a nap."

Rover beeped softly and allowed itself to enter low power mode. It would still keep up with the Castle's computer and wake Hunk up if it detected any dangers. Of course, the Castle would do that too. Hunk just hoped it wouldn't come to that.

* * *

Romelle sneered at her sleeping brother. She may care about him, but he was a means to an end, nothing more. As long as she gave Avok what he wanted, he would keep his word and not tell their father, King Cova, where she was hiding. Naturally, Avok had no idea she and Bandor were the leaders of the rebellion against the Galra Empire. She couldn't afford to tell him that. He was, quite frankly, too loyal to the Galra Empire to trust with that information.

As far as Avok was concerned, Romelle was hiding from her father to avoid being given back to Lotor as a way to secure his place as the foremost of the Galra Empire's allies. Because that had worked out so well last time he tried. Romelle did not consider her time under Lotor's care as anything but a travesty that she used to fuel her anger and, by extension, her rebellion.

It was only by sheer coincidence that she'd noticed Avok's affection for her. He was the only person other than her younger brother Bandor to speak up against King Cova's decision to give her hand to Lotor. It hadn't take much after that to figure out why.

After that, all it had taken was a carefully worded plea to her brother, begging him to come save her from Lotor. That it was him she loved and not Lotor. That she only wanted to be with him and no other. Avok had, to her mild surprise come running.

He came a bit too late to save her from Lotor's grasp; that was thanks almost entirely to Thace. But he had gotten her away from the Galra homeworld and back to Pollux where she took over a defunct seascraper that she refurbished with help from both of her brothers, as well as a few others in secret. Now that defunct seascraper was a fully functional miniature city equipped with living quarters, a fully stocked kitchen, balea docks, and the means to maintain a steady flow of communication.

Avok did all this for her without question. The only price he demanded was that she allow him access to her body. After what she went through with Lotor, she had very little to left to lose but plenty the gain. She had agreed on the condition she use Kadesh because neither of them wanted a child thrown into the mix. As far as Romelle was concerned, the only child she would ever call truly hers was out of her reach somewhere in the Galra Empire.

At least incest wasn't illegal on Pollux. It wasn't necessarily seemly to take place in public, but it was deemed acceptable in private. So she wasn't breaking any laws, as far as Avok knew anyway. Also, Avok wasn't that bad on the eyes. From the view of most Polluxians, he was the epitome of perfection: red hair he let brush his shoulders in a windblown style, dark eyes like the bark of some of the plants kept in some of the īegs and seascrapers, strong muscular arms tanned from the years in the sun and sea, and freckles dusting his cheeks. Had Romelle not fallen in love with Thace, perhaps she would have developed feelings that were more than sibling love for Avok.

But this was no time to dwell on what-ifs. Now was the time to reach out to her forces and establish a line of contact with this Voltron. If it was anywhere near as formidable as the legends said, and her sources hinted that it very well could be, then it was worth the risk. Thace said the traders had a direct link in to Voltron team. She would start by contacting them. Knowing the traders' tendencies, she would start by contacting one of her agents on Meserie. If the traders weren't there now, they had been and would be again.

She got up from the bed, taking care to not awaken Avok. Although, given the way he was snoring, she doubted even a rogue wave would wake him. She grabbed her compact holographic projector and slipped into the bathing room for privacy, making sure to lock the door behind her. She turned on the light just keep up the illusion of getting ready to bathe, turned on the water to begin filling the tub, and set the projector down on the tile floor next to the tub's rim.

After a quick glance over her shoulder from paranoia, she activated the projector and waited as the star map located her and then projected a holographic representation of the stellar bodies in the vicinity of Pollux. The Daystar was depicted prominently near Pollux and its long extinct sister planet Altea. She typed in the coordinates for Meserie and waited for the planet's holographic projection to appear. When it did, she tapped the planet's image and the list of her agents currently registered as on that planet's surface appeared. She tapped the club owner's name and typed a quick message for him to read. If the traders came to Meserie, they would inevitably make contact with Manset sooner or later.

She sent the message and closed the portable projector. The biometric lock flashed, indicating its activation and she it aside. If anyone who didn't match her quintessence exactly tried to access the projector, it would instantly erase all of its data. But who would want to access the personal diary of Princess Romelle of Pollux? No wanted to hear the lovesick rambling of a princess who had hopelessly fallen for her older brother, after all.

Now for a good washing. She didn't want Avok's scent on her any longer than necessary.


	82. PART 3 - 82: Danburite

**A/N:** A quick break from the Space Family for a return to Meserie. Whoo~ **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Manset gets a message, makes a deal, and passes on a message. **  
**

* * *

 **82: Danburite - stimulates intellect, enhances psychic ability & self-assuredness  
**

Manset rolled over in his bed when a particular device by his ear beeped waking him immediately. He sat up and checked the room around him habitually to be sure he was alone. He had already swept the room for any potential spying devices the night before and found none. But it was always good to stay in the habit of checking. He could never be too careful.

The window screen had the solar shield raised to block the eternal sunset light of Meserie from disturbing his sleep and thick curtains were pulled across the window as well. There were some advantages to the daylight never changing. Meserie kept to the standard time measurements and used solar shields and solar lamps to denote 'night' and 'day.' When the solar shields attached to the particle barrier protecting the port city from the raging winds on the planet's surface and the solar lamps dotting the city dimmed, it was 'night.' When the shield was lowered and the lamps brightened, it was 'day.'

But relying on the sunlight and his own solar shields on his home windows, he had effectively reversed his body clock. His 'night' was the rest of Meserie's 'day' and vice versa. It helped when he ran a bar and lounge that was only opened during the night.

He got out of bed and lifted the mattress revealing a hidden panel. He spit on his hand and placed it on the biometric scanner. The scanner flashed green and slid aside revealing a compartment just big enough to hold a small, portable holographic projector in the shape of a metallic pyramid. Carefully, he plucked the device from the compartment making sure the panel slid shut before dropping the mattress back on top of it and climbing back into bed.

One of his arms pulled the blankets back up over him while another tapped the translator behind his ear in just the right place. The translator beeped twice before ejecting a tiny crystal. He could the crystal before it fell into the pile of pillows and blankets around him where he was certain it would be lost forever.

Instead, he tapped the apex of the pyramid and the three sides opened up to rest on the blankets. He placed the tiny crystal in the center of the projector's base in a slot that was designed for this crystal alone. When the crystal was secured in place, it began to glow and project a series of messages encrypted using a code that he had long ago been taught how to crack.

 _"I've received word from the Soldier,"_ the message began. Manset stiffened in surprise. This was from the leader. He quickly read through the rest of the message, making sure he understood it completely.

 _"I have received word from the Soldier. They've confirmed the legitimacy of Voltron. Tell the Traders I want to offer a potential alliance to Voltron. Any information regarding Voltron should be sent to me as soon as possible. They also informed me that Zarkon has devoted the majority of his forces on tracking down someone only known by Sentinel. The emperor wants the Sentinel captured alive and unharmed. Your new priority is to discover the Sentinel's identity. Also, tell the Traders to get me the Kadesh quickly because I'm getting impatient."_

Manset snorted at the end of the message. He would be sure to pass on the leader's instructions. Although, knowing Rolo and Nyma, he would bet it would be a while before the traders could extricate themselves from the Market here on Meserie. The Market wouldn't end for a few more cycles, after all.

However, the news of Emperor Zarkon's new current obsession was interesting. It gave him something to begin data-mining for. Maybe Rolo knew something about this Sentinel person. But even if he didn't, Manset knew both Rolo and Nyma could use their connection to Voltron to establish an alliance.

Besides, if Rolo was going to give Manset the proof he promised that that accursed drug -he refused think of the juniberry as anything but that- was something entirely harmless to Alteans, then the trader would need to contact this Voltron team anyway. Speaking of, Rolo promised to have that proof here to present in person by tomorrow at the latest. Manset supposed he could wait that long.

He removed the tiny crystal from the slot and slipped it back into its hiding place in his translator. A tick after the crystal was removed, the sides of the pyramid projector lifted and closed. Manset stood and lifted his bed once more and replaced the holographic project back into its hiding place.

Instead of getting back into bed himself, however, he decided to pay a visit to The Mistro hotel for a midday, or in his case a midnight snack. It was the perfect excuse to listen in on the latest gossip as well as keep an eye on Lotor. Manset shuddered. Honestly, he would be much more at ease the moment that accursed prince was off of Meserie. The further from Manset's trading post home Lotor went, the better as far as the lounge owner was concerned.

There was also the matter of those rumors he'd hinted at to Rolo last he'd seen him: the drug dealer who was due to arrive on Meserie either today or tomorrow. He knew very little about her except for one thing that everyone he'd spoken to agreed on: do not get on her bad side. He would have to get eyes on the woman and make sure she didn't try sending any feelers into his lounge. Den Resistance prided itself on being a drug free zone. It did not cater to that despicable class and never would. Manset would die before he allowed his precious establishment to stoop that low.

The atrium of The Mistro was roughly circular with hotel rooms on all sides. The higher levels, however, were penthouses that were owned by permanent or semi-permanent residents. Manset was proud to say he was one of the privileged few to own a penthouse in The Mistro. His humble abode may not be the highest level of the skyscraper, but it wasn't the lowest either. His home was still only accessible from a private lift that required a personal keycard and biometric access before ascending to the level of choice. Manset paid for that security.

He stepped out of the glass lift as it approached the main floor of The Mistro and saw the closed and barred main doors of his lounge, Den Resistance on the right. A few people stopped by the doors to glance at the lounge's hours and available menu. One of those people was a woman with long hair the shade of blood and moon pale skin that resembled moonlight. She wore all black. Her shirt cut off at mid-waist leaving her pale skin visible for anyone to see. Her black pants were skin-tight and sat low on her hips. A long half-skirt hung from her pant line trailing behind her like a tail. On her shoulder sat a microraptor that was busy preening its feathers, ignoring the slender finger petting its neck.

She cut and striking figure that both enticed and intimidated. She carried no bags and appeared to be alone aside from her feathered companion. Perhaps he could ask if she needed anything or had any questions.

Or, then again, perhaps not. Manset's eyes narrowed when he noticed the devil himself approach her and extend his hand in greeting. To Manset's dismay, the dark woman grasp the Galran prince's offered wrist and together, they migrated to the lift the lounge owner currently rode. He averted his eyes and scanned the rest of the main floor in mild interest. As the lift door opened, he pulled out a ticker and took note of the time, nodding to the prince and woman as they passed each other.

Something pricked the back of his head and he scratched it with one of his hands. It didn't satisfy the itch, but the sensation did vanish rather quickly. He didn't dwell on it for too long. Instead, he made his way out of The Mistro and down the skypaths to one of the large, general admittance lifts. The Market this turn may not be one of the larger, more prestigious Markets, but it was still notable and Manset needed a new coat. His current coat was clinging to the dregs of the latest fashion craze. He would not allow himself to dress out of fashion. That would be an unforgivable sin.

If he happened to notice where Rolo and Nyma had set up their site, it was a mere coincidence and if he stopped at their site to look at their wares, it was because he was interested in their collection of rare plants. He was always interested in expanding the oasis in Den Resistance.

"Manset!" Rolo called, stepping up onto the wooden platform that served as his and his partner's shop. "You didn't tell me you were coming to visit."

Manset laughed merrily. "Yes, well, I couldn't sleep and I have been meaning to visit this turn's Market," he replied with a broad smile. "I'm in need of a new coat. Also," he turned his gaze up to the glass encase flowers on the top shelf, "I couldn't help but notice your rarities."

A flame ignited in the trader's eyes that made the lounge own chuckle fondly. "Yes, yes, rub it in," he said. "Just hand me that blue flower, boy."

Rolo grimaced. "I'm not that much younger than you, you know," he grumbled, but reached for the plant with the single, large blue flower. It was encased in glass and Manset knew it would remain that way until a deal was struck. "This is the-"

"Savrian desert flower," Manset finished with a wry grin at Rolo. "I'm aware. It's the reason why I asked for it. Let me see."

Rolo held out the glass case, but never let go of it. He spun it around so the lounge owner could see it from all sides. Manset nodded in satisfaction.

"Thirty credits," he offered. It was almost insultingly low.

Rolo scoffed. "For this? Come on, Mans, don't do this. You know perfectly well how rare this plant it. It's worth four times that and you know it."

"Do I?"

The trader gave Manset a flat stare. "One hundred fifty credits," he countered.

This time it was Manset who hissed. "That's steep there, my friend," he said. "I'll go with eighty credits."

"Alright, now you are insulting me," Rolo said, pulling the flower close to his chest, holding it almost protectively. "Isn't that right, Nyma?" he called.

"I'll say."

Manset turned to see the yellow skinned Teiidae standing with her weight one leg and propping a fist on one hip. She was giving him a disdainful glare that made his smile.

"Good to see you too, Nyma," he said.

The Teiidae snorted. "Not with that price, you're not," she said, approaching the deck.

MAnset shrugged. "I'll go one hundred, but no more," he said.

After a tick, Rolo shrugged. "Well, if that's the way you want it, then it's no deal," he said. "Nyma, could you take this inside so our _guest_ doesn't try to, ah, observe it again, would you?"

Manset held out a hand. "That won't be necessary," he said quickly. "I'm sure we can come to an arrangement."

Rolo considered the offer thoughtfully for a few ticks before nodded. "Okay, I'm listening. What are you offering?"

"One hundred credits and a message from a mutual acquaintance," Manset said.

Nyma stepped onto the platform and stood by Rolo. Both of them eyed the lounge owner suspiciously but she was the one to speak. "Depends on who this acquaintance is and if the message is worth our time," she said.

Manset shrugged. "I guess you'll just have to wait and see," he said.

"That's a bit underhanded, isn't it?" Rolo said. "I'll go one hundred fifty credits and the message. No lower."

Manset shook his head slowly. "I doubt the Leader would approve of that," he said.

It was a testament to both Rolo and Nyma's experience that they didn't flinch or give any visible sign of shock aside from a slight widening of their eyes.

"Well, considering I _am_ the leader," Rolo said, "I'll be the one to decide that." He surreptitiously glanced at Nyma who pursed her lips but nodded, her lidless eyes never straying from Manset's face. "Alright," Rolo said eventually, "One hundred thirty credits and the information."

"Make it one hundred twenty and both the credits and the message are yours with no strings attached," Manset said.

It was exactly four times the worth he originally offered for the plant. It was the appraised value and, unless Rolo retrieved the flower from less than legal means, the traders would end up breaking even with this deal instead of making money. But they all knew a message directly from the leader was worth so much more.

Rolo still made a show of thinking before finally holding out his hand for Manset to shake and seal the deal. "Come inside and we'll do the exchange," he said.

"I'll watch the shop," Nyma said, flashing a glance at Rolo.

The trader nodded and shot his partner a playful salute before entering the yurt behind the lounge owner. "Alright," he said. "Let's get this over with." He made sure the sound muffler was working before pulling the handheld creditor device used for credit transfers from his favorite jacket pocket. "So, the leader called?" he asked, his eyes focused on the device in his hand.

"They did, yes," Manset said. "It seems the Soldier told them about your contact in Voltron's team. They want you to start talks for an alliance."

"You'd think our agreement to trade information freely wasn't an alliance to begin with," Rolo said wryly, handing the creditor to Manset.

"It isn't, as I'm sure you're aware," the lounge owner said, taking the creditor and authorizing the credit transfer process. "There's more."

"There always is," Rolo muttered under his breath.

"Do you know anything about a person called Sentinel?" Manset asked.

He looked up as he handed the creditor back to the trader to finalize the transaction. For this reason and this reason alone, he saw a look of shock flicker across Rolo's face. Rolo was good. He recovered so fast that, had Manset been less experienced, he would have thought the sight was nothing more than wishful thinking. But he was nowhere near new at this and he knew what he'd seen.

"Rolo?" he pressed. "Do you know the Sentinel?"

Rolo took the creditor and stuffed it in his pocket. "I have, yes," he said carefully.

"You're being awfully careful with your words," Manset commented, slightly offended. "You know you can trust me."

"Says the person who wouldn't believe me about the juniberry plant," the trader grumbled.

"Drug," Manset said.

 _"Plant,"_ Rolo snapped, relaxing a tick later. "At least in the context I'm speaking of," he amended.

"That _drug,"_ Manset said sternly, ignoring the glare Rolo shot him, "has ruined so many lives-"

"Yes," Rolo hissed. "Lives of stupid people who were more interested in a quick high than their physical health or the fact that thing is highly poisonous."

Manset sighed and rolled his eyes. "I can't believe you're still belaboring that point," he groaned.

"Because a deal is a deal and I'll be fucked if I let even you make an oathbreaker out of me," Rolo said. "I have a reputation to uphold and in my occupation, reputation is as good as currency."

"I know what you're doing, Rolo," Manset interrupted, "and I'm not going to let you get away with it. You know something about the Sentinel. Why won't you tell me?"

The trader shut his mouth and pressed his lips in a firm line.

"You know who the Sentinel is, don't you." It wasn't a question. "Rolo, if you know who it is, you need to tell me."

Rolo looked away. "Even if I did know who the Sentinel is, and I'm not admitting to anything," he said quickly, holding up a hand, "I wouldn't tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because I value my reputation," Rolo said coldly, "and I'm no oathbreaker."

"That-" Manset threw all four of his hands in the air in an exasperated gesture. "Fine. Don't tell me," he said. "But if you can, get a couple messages to the Sentinel. First, the leader wants to meet him. Our Leader is willing to help the Sentinel if an alliance with Voltron proves a possibility."

"I'm still not admitting to anything," Rolo said, crossing his arms, "but if I knew the Sentinel, I'd make sure he got the word. So, what's the second part of this message I may or may not send?"

Manset couldn't help but glance out the yurt's only window before returning his gaze to his friend. "The Leader also told me the Soldier said the emperor wants the Sentinel alive and unharmed," he said.

Rolo blinked, his mouth dropping open. "The frell?" he grasped. "That's not-"

"It is," Manset said. "I didn't believe it first either, but it's the truth. Granted, I haven't been able to confirm anything through my own sources but you and I both know the Soldier's never lead the Leader astray before with their information."

The trader nodded, his eyes still wide in shock. "Okay," he said, handing over the glass encased blue flower as well as a key to remove the protective casing. "I'll pass that on, _if_ I knew the Sentinel," he added.

Manset took the flower and watched his friend leave the yurt, following silently. It hurt knowing Rolo was keeping secrets from him. The lounge owner had never known Rolo to be so secretive about someone other than his fellow informants as well as the rebellion as a whole. Whatever the Sentinel had done to gain Rolo's trust had to be significant indeed.

He shook Rolo's hand once more before moving to leave. "Oh," he said suddenly. "One last thing." He turned to Nyma and said, "Your customer wants you to get them the Kadesh as soon as you can. They are, I quote 'getting impatient.'"

Nyma snorted. "I'll do what I can," she sniffed.

Without looking back, Manset turned and made his way back to his penthouse in The Mistro. He needed a few more hours of sleep before getting ready to open Den Resistance


	83. PART 3 - 83: Calcite

**A/N:** Another emotion-filled chapter focusing in our favorite Space Bros: Lance and Hunk. There's a rather huge feels punch at the end of the chapter, just a fair warning. Also, when Lance says Alwida is 10 periods (years) old, he means 10 Altean years old. Since I basing Altean years on Venusian years (year length only, not day length), that make Alwida 10 Venusian years old which is 6 and a half Earth years old. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Lance and Hunk have a heart-to-heart, Lance finally cries, and Keith drops a feels bomb on us. **  
**

* * *

 **83: Calcite -balances mental and emotional health, aids memory, healing, purification, & protection**

The first thing he felt when he was sure he was awake was the cold seeping in his bones. He didn't open his eyes right away, choosing to feel and listen instead. He was cold, similar and yet dissimilar to the cold that seeped from Lance's body.

Lance.

A wave of soul-deep sadness filled his heart weakening his muscles and threatening to drown him to death. Her certainly felt cold enough. Then there was a rush of air and the faintest hint of warmth that brushed across his face like a breath, a hint of flame. It hurt and stole any lingering strength he had in him. His legs gave out and he fell-

-straight into a warm embrace. He couldn't open his eyes. As long as he kept them closed, he could imagine it was Lance who had caught him. The moment he opened his eyes, that dream would vanish like smoke. If only that scent…

He couldn't help it. He opened his eyes as the person holding him knelt down allowing him to slump against the warm body completely. No. Not a warm body. There was warmth there, yes, but there was also a coolness to the hands clutching the back of his shirt. And the fingers in his hair were almost icy as they wove through the dark strands. That… And that scent…

He opened his eyes wider and saw the blue sleeve by his face. It couldn't… He let his eyelids droop shut and buried his nose in the blue fabric, breathing in the scent he knew so well. There were other scents mixed in with the subtle musk and spice that was distinctly Lance: the heady smell of sweat, the sharp tang of fear that made his nose crinkle, and something crisp like a fresh breeze from a seashore.

Lance. It was Lance. But… But why?

His ear twitched, tickled by soft breath accompanied by the sound of muffled words. He focused on the sound, his ear flicking towards the source, and was stunned when he understood the words. They were soft, garbled, and colored by thick emotion, but he was able to make sense of them.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Forgive me, please. I'm sorry. Keithek, I'm so sorry."

On and on it went. The words tumbling out of a mouth close to his ear in Lance's broken, raw voice. Why was it broken? Why was it raw? The last time Keith could remember hearing that voice was when-

He halted that train of thought quickly when the cold he hadn't noticed had been fading from him began to return. Instead, he nuzzled the cloth by his nose and flicked his ear so the tufted fur at the ends brushed what he though was Lance's cheek and let out a weak purr.

"Keith?"

He wanted to answer. He did. But it took so much energy and he was still so tired. A flickering flame kindled in his chest, thawing the ice from within just as Lance's arms melted it from without.

"Keith, can you hear me?"

It was the faint hope in that broken voice and the returning fire that gave him enough energy to say two words.

"Forgive you."

* * *

The words were faint, almost a whisper, but he heard them and it brought fresh tears to his eyes. He curled around Keith's now slumbering body and sobbed. He didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve a second chance. What he'd done… What he'd almost done… Whether he meant it or not, it was unforgivable. That Keith forgave him was something he never imagined.

To add to Lance's worries, Keith was cold, colder than he should be. It scared Lance. He was afraid of what would happen if he kept holding Keith close, but he was equally afraid of letting him out of his sight. Just the thought of it scared him out of his mind. What if Keith died? What if Keith changed his mind and retracted his forgiveness? Lance would understand if he did. It would break his heart, but he would understand. He knew he'd broken Keith's heart thoroughly. He deserved to suffer a similar fate.

But he couldn't die. He couldn't let himself die. Keith was too much a part of him. If he left or if Keith left, Lance wasn't sure either of them would survive the experience. Or, more likely, Lance suspected Keith would waste away and die. But Lance knew he himself would survive because Allura needed him. As long as Allura needed her Sentinel, as long as she needed a shield and sword to protect her, Lance would live on to do just that. Nothing else. Just that.

A roar rocked his sense, causing him to wince from the sheer volume and power. He winced and lifted his shoulders in a vain attempt to cover his ears even though he knew the roar was inside his head and not out. A torrent of emotions that were not his own overwhelmed his mind. Fear, fury, denial, possession, comfort, worry. It was the warm water that soothed the burn of his dark thoughts.

Then the water froze in his gut, settling in his core where it belonged. Lance shivered as the Blue Lion continued to soothe him and purr a gentle, steady rhythm in his mind. At the same time, he felt the red paladin's body begin to grow warm in his embrace. It gave him hope.

He drew on that hope and gathered Keith up in his arms. He staggered briefly as he struggled to his feet. A large hand on his back stopped him from losing his balance and he looked over to its owner. Hunk stood there by his side. He'd completely forgotten the yellow paladin was there. Keith had been the sole possessor or the prince's attention from the moment the healing pod beeped, startling him awake. He and Hunk had managed to get to their feet in time for the pod's shield to lift.

For a tick there, Lance saw one of Keith's legs move and hoped the red paladin would wake up and walk out good as new. But then the leg had given way under Keith's weight send his body forward into Lance's waiting arms.

"Do you need any help?" Hunk asked.

Lance knew the yellow paladin didn't mean the words as an insult. Everyone on their team was definitely exhausted mentally, emotionally, physically… Lance wondered briefly how they would ever manage to form Voltron with all of the distrust and division plaguing their team. The Blue Lion filled his anxious mind with a rumbling purr. Lance took her advice and stopped dwelling on what could be. Right now, he had to carry his…his mate to bed where he could rest.

"You don't have to do this alone, Lance," Hunk said, worry and caring in his eyes.

The prince hesitated. He blinked away another waterfall of tears and sighed, bowing his head. Keith's head lolled against his shoulder, his nose brushing Lance's neck and one of his ears tickled the prince's chin.

"I know," he said eventually, his lips twitching upwards in a weak smile. "I know," he said again. "Just… Just make sure I don't fall."

"I can do that," Hunk said, pressing a supportive hand against the center of the prince's back. "I got your back."

Lance looked up at the yellow paladin in surprise. He opened his mouth to say something, then decided against it and fell silent. Together, he and Hunk made their way out of the healing pod chamber and into the lift. Hunk never tried to convince Lance to speak. He just kept his hand in the center of the prince's back and made sure to walk at the same pace as Lance. The yellow paladin's presence was comforting and sturdy like the earth and rock. He really was the perfect fit for the Yellow Lion; debatably better even than the previous yellow paladin. A reverberating sound filtered into his mind in the Blue Lion's form of laughter.

When they stepped out of the lift, Lance and Hunk made their way down the hallway past the other paladins' quarters. Lance slowed his steps and felt Hunk's confusion when he stopped in front of a room that wasn't Keith's. Then Hunk recognized it and grimaced.

Lance hesitated, unable to free one of his hands to unlock his bedroom door. Hunk used his free arm to support Keith's upper body, holding him in place against Lance's chest. The prince nodded in grim thanks and waved his hand by the access panel. The crystals flashed and the door hissed open with a soft chime. Lance quickly replaced his arm around Keith's body, nodding again when Hunk returned control to him before stepping into his room.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Hunk asked causing Lance to pause just inside the doorway. "I could leave if you want."

The prince hesitated, swallowing nervously. Eventually he shook his head. "No. S-stay," he whispered. "I…" He bowed his head and continued towards his bed. "I don't want to be alone right now. It…wouldn't be wise."

"Okay, then I'll stay." Without another word, the yellow paladin entered the prince's room and the door slid shut behind him. "Do you need anything?" he asked after a few ticks of silence.

Lance gently lay Keith down on his bed, pulling the sheets and blanket out from under the red paladin's body. He removed Keith's shoes and dropped them on the floor beside the bed then tugged the covers up over Keith's form, ticking them around him just like his mother used to do.

"Not really," he said listlessly. He sighed and leaned on the bed. "You don't have to stay, if you don't want to. If you want to go help the others, you can. I'm not trying to keep you from them."

"Yeah, about that," Hunk said, coming over to Lance's side and dropping a warm, heavy hand on the prince's shoulder. "I think they'll be fine without me. Coran came while you were asleep. Allura's resting right now and Shiro is under watch."

"Under watch?" Lance asked.

"Yeah," Hunk said grimly. "Sendak got into his head and scrambled it up like Humpty Dumpty."

The prince blinked mildly and lifted his gaze to the yellow paladin's in confusion. "Like what?"

"Oh, ah, nothing," Hunk said quickly. "Just an Earth thing."

Lance nodded. "I see."

He sat on the edge of the bed, resting a hand in Keith's hair. After a teck or so of silence except for the usual comforting sounds of the Castle's inner working, Lance sighed.

"What did I do?"

Hunk stiffened. "What do you mean?" he asked carefully. "You do remember, don't yo-"

"Don't be ridiculous, Hunk. Of _course,_ I remember," Lance snapped immediately wilting under the yellow paladin's hurt expression. "I mean… What did I _do?"_

* * *

Hunk pressed his lips together in a thin line and studied the blue paladin carefully. Lance's eyes were wide and horror stricken. It did things to Hunk's heart that he wasn't sure what to make of.

"You… You attacked us," he said simply.

Lance nodded. "I know," he said, staring fixedly at the floor. "I remember that. I thought… I thought I was doing the right thing."

"It was the warped quintessence," Hunk said, stepping up to his friend. "Coran sai-"

"Coran was wrong," Lance said, cutting off the yellow paladin's words. "Or, not wrong so much as mistaken."

Hunk stilled but didn't back away. "What do you mean?" he asked patiently. "Did you want to hurt us?"

"Yes," Lance answered honestly, lifting his gaze to Hunk's. "I wanted to hurt you. I wanted to kill you. You were a threat."

"A threat?" Hunk gasped. "Why would you think that?"

"Because Father said you were," Lance said. He held Hunk's gaze steadily before wincing and looking down. "And because I…wasn't myself."

"So the quintessence did mess you up," Hunk murmured.

Lance grimaced. "It did, yes, but it doesn't excuse my actions," he said slowly. "I did want to kill you. That much is true. I saw you, all of you, as a threat. I was afraid of you. And I hated Keith."

"Now you're not making sense," Hunk said seriously. "If you hate Keith, then why did you have…you know, with him?"

Despite his best efforts, Lance snorted a laughed. "You really can't say 'sex,' can you?" Lance asked, glancing up at Hunk in amusement before wincing and looking down again.

The move caught the yellow paladin's attention. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"It's-"

"Say 'it's nothing,' and I might have to hurt you," Hunk warned.

The prince's lips twitched upwards. "Actually, I was going to say my eye hurts," he said. "But, I suppose in the grand scheme of things, it is nothing." He grunted when something smacked the back of his head. He clapped both of his hands over the sore bump on his skull and looked up at Hunk in disgruntled shock. "You _hit_ me!"

"Uh, yeah? I did say I would have to hurt you if you said it was 'nothing,' didn't I?" Hunk said, crossing his arms and giving the prince a flat stare. Then the dim light from the starry sky in the view screen on Lance's wall hit the prince's right eye and Hunk gasped. "By Pele, what the heck happened to your eye?"

Lance grimaced and looked away, rubbing his no-doubt aching eye. "I got electrocuted, if you recall," he said wryly. "The eye is metal and even with shielding, it can't withstand a powerful enough electrical shock."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Hunk cried in dismay.

"Because it's not important right now," Lance said. _"Besides,"_ he said louder, over Hunk's counterargument, "there's nothing we can do about it anyway. Not at the moment at least. It doesn't hurt that bad right now."

"Just when you look up," Hunk said, nodding.

Lance winced but nodded. "It's any movement involving rolling my eye, actually," he corrected. "But yes, it hurts to look up."

"I'm sorry," Hunk said.

Lance sighed. "Why are you sorry?" he demanded. "I'm the one who attacked you without provocation."

"About that, why did you want to kill us? And what was with that lie about hating Keith?" Hunk asked.

The prince frowned. "Did you know Father was the Sentinel before me?" he asked, glancing up. Hunk shook his head. "He was. He chose me as the next Sentinel after rejecting the first choice."

"Who was the first choice?" Hunk asked, stepping cautiously up to Lance. He sat slowly on the bed so as not to disturb Keith, although he suspected the red paladin was at least conscious if not fully awake.

"Lauma," the prince said turning where he sat to gaze at Keith's still face. "My older sister. The second oldest. Allura was the third eldest."

"Why was she rejected? If you don't mind me asking," Hunk added quickly.

Lance pressed his lips together and sighed through his nose. "She did something Father found…unacceptable," he said slowly. "So, he rejected her and chose me instead."

"What did she do?" Hunk pressed gently, studying Lance's face carefully.

The prince glared down at the red paladin's face, not really seeing him so much as the memory playing out in his mind. He blinked back to the present and removed his hand from Keith's hair, letting it slide down the red paladin's face to trace his cheeks. He didn't answer the yellow paladin's question aloud, but Hunk saw the way Lance sighed and rubbed his thumb over the cheek bone back to the corner of Keith's closed eye.

"She fell in love with a Galra, didn't she," Hunk said, not really surprised when he saw Lance nod. "And your father didn't like that."

"He had his reasons," Lance hedged. "I didn't necessarily agree with them, but…" He shrugged. "Either way, he rejected her and chose me instead. I didn't want it," he bit out after a few seconds. "I just wanted to be a Master Pilot. I just wanted to fly. But I knew Father wouldn't take 'no' for an answer, and I kept thinking, 'If I became the Sentinel, then I could travel with Allura, the Heir, as her personal pilot. I could protect her and fly and see the universe." He smiled. "How could I say no to that?"

"Is that why he- Alfor made you choose between Keith and Allura?" Hunk asked gently.

"That _thing_ was not Alfor," Lance growled. "That was _not_ my father. Alfor rejected Lauma, yes. He rejected her because she was mated to a Galra, yes. But not because of the reasons you're probably thinking."

"Then explain it to me," Hunk said, sounding faintly desperate.

"It wasn-" Lance bit off his words and refused to continue. When Hunk realized he wasn't going to get an answer, he sighed.

"Lance," Hunk said, "you know secrets are the last thing we need dividing us right now." Lance remained silent so Hunk shook his head. "Alright, I won't press. But what does that have to do with you wanting to kill us and hating Keith?" he asked again.

Lance groaned. "Isn't it obvious?" he said, looking up at Hunk in exasperation.

The yellow paladin tried to make his confusion as evident as possible. He must have succeeded because the prince groaned and hung his head. "I wanted to kill you because I thought you were going to hurt Allura. I hated Keith because he represents everything that destroyed practically everything I love. Father said he was a Galra so that's all I saw."

"But that was the messed up quintessence," Hunk said. "You can't be blamed for that. You weren't aware-"

"I _was_ aware," Lance said. "I _was_ aware and _everything_ I thought, felt, and said during that time was true. None of it was fake. But they weren't…"

Lance pressed his lips together and Hunk felt guilt creep into his heart, but he refused to back down now. "They weren't what, Lance?" he asked.

"Just because I feel that sometimes doesn't mean I'd ever _act_ on it," Lance said loudly. "All the warped quintessence did was magnify the negative thoughts and emotions. They were _always_ there, just not… Yes, I want to kill you. Or, not _kill_ you per se, but I want you to go away. I want all of you to just go away. I want _everything_ to go away. I want it to just go back to the way it was before everything went to the Magog."

"I wish you hadn't woken us up," Lance continued. "I wish you'd never found the Yellow Lion. I wish the Great War hadn't happened. I wish Altea was still here. I wish… I want…" He sobbed, leaning down to rest his head on Keith's chest. "I want to go _home_. I want to see Alwida and Latif's smiling faces again. I want my- I want my mother."

He sobbed openly. "I can't get their faces out of my head," he said through his tears. "Every night I dream about them but I can barely remember their smiles anymore. I just keep seeing their faces melting away in front of me, hearing Alwida's screams as the acid burns her mouth and throat into goop as she scratches herself raw to make the hurt go away, I keep feeling her body fall limp in my arms as she dies. And I feel _relief!_ I was _relieved_ she'd died. I was relieved when they _all_ died and the screams stopped. I didn't run for help, I didn't do anything except stand there and watch them _die!"_

A hand rested on his head and began brushing his hair.

"She was only ten periods old," he whispered hoarsely. "I couldn't help her. When it mattered, I couldn't do anything but watch." He shook his head and gripped the sheets separating his face from Keith's shirt. "I just want to sleep through the night without seeing them die again. I just want… I'm sorry," he said. "I'm so sorry."

The hand in his hair slipped down to the damaged eyescale by his right and traced a sharp nail along the ragged edges. Lance flinched and lifted his head to stare wide-eyed at Keith's open and alert eyes. The blood fled from his face to his legs making them tingle with the desire to flee but he couldn't move, rooted to the spot by fear.

"Do you still hate me?" Keith whispered softly.

Lance swallowed over his dry throat, unable to look away while Keith waited patiently for answer. Eventually, the prince closed his eyes and hung his head in defeat. "No," he breathed. "I'm so sorry. I'm so-"

A thumb pressed against Lance's lips, holding them together so he couldn't finish his apology.

"I told you before," Keith said. "I forgive you."

Lance shook his head. "No. No, you can't just forgive me. I rejected you. I almost _killed_ you because I couldn't control my temper. You can't just _forgive_ me."

"Yes I can."

 _"How?"_ Lance cried, staring at Keith desperately. "How? _Why?"_

"Because I love you," Keith replied simply.


	84. PART 3 - 84: Aquamarine

**A/N:** Sorry I didn't post last night like I intended to. I'm taking this new meds and ended up having the mother of all migraines that successfully knocked me off my feet. I literally tried taking a hot bath, then a hot shower, then ended up crying and going to bed at 9:30. I slept until 7:30am this morning.

I'm taking the meds again today and if I get another migraine, I won't be taking it again. Ever. I'd rather be sleep deprived than have migraines every day. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Hunk knows when to leave and Lance and Keith finally, _finally_ begin to talk. **  
**

* * *

 **84: Aquamarine - banishes fear, calms nerves, imparts strength and control  
**

The moment those words left Keith's mouth, Hunk knew he was intruding on something private. He ducked his head, a blushing coloring his cheeks, and quickly stepped out of Lance's room. He debated looking for Allura but then he remembered the state Shiro had been in when he'd left him and decided to go to Shiro's quarters instead.

He wouldn't speak about what he'd heard between Keith and Lance until they gave to O.K. But he needed someone to talk to regarding what Lance had said about his experience under the warped quintessence's influence. Lance had said Coran was mistaken about what happened to him and something about Lance's explanation regarding Alfor's actions sounded…off.

This wasn't the time for secrets. Not anymore. They were too divided. They couldn't afford to keep secrets from each other like they had been. It was ripping them apart.

* * *

Lance stared down at Keith's eyes in shock. He searched desperately for any signs of falsehood or, perhaps not that so much as an overstatement. Nothing. The red paladin's expression was entirely open and honest and it was like a punch to the gut.

"No," he whispered, gripping the red paladin's shirt in a white-knuckled grip. "No, Keith. Take it back."

Keith's expression slipped into one of confusion before fading to sadness, his ears pinning back against his head. "Lance," he breathed, hurt coloring his tone.

"Take it back, Keith. Please," Lance begged. "Please, _please,_ take it back. You don't mean it. You _can't_ mean it."

"But I _do_ mean it," Keith insisted, reaching up to catch the prince's chin between his fingers and hold his gaze. "I _do_ mean it," he said slowly, emphasizing every word. "I would never lie about that."

"Then take it back," Lance pleaded. "Please Keith. You don't want me. You-"

He tried to shake off the fingers Keith pressed to his lips only to have the red paladin place his entire hand over his mouth. "Don't say that," Keith said softly, tears forming in his eyes. "Please don't say that. It's not true. I do want you, in so many ways. I want to be near you. I want to listen to you. I want to look at you. I want to hold you. I want to love you. I wouldn't have said 'I love you' if I didn't mean it."

Lance closed his eyes and shook his head, muffled sobs wafting from behind Keith's silencing hand and Keith felt fear close around his heart.

"Lance, please believe me," he begged. "I'm not toying with you or lying or even blowing things out of proportion. I'm telling you the truth." Lance shuddered when Keith removed his hand in favor of weaving his fingers through the prince's hair. "Lance," he whispered pleadingly. "Lance please. Don't tell me to take it back. I won't. I never will."

"Why?" Lance whispered desperately. "I'm not the one for you. Don't you understand? You've seen what I can do. You've seen what I'm capable of, what my _temper_ is capable of. I attacked our team-"

"You were possessed."

"But the emotions were still true!"

"And you said yourself you would never act on them," Keith said firmly. "I was listening, Lance. I heard everything." The prince's face paled considerably and he hung his head, but Keith refused to stop caressing his head. "Lance, I heard you tell Hunk about your father, why he rejected Lauma and chose you. I heard that, and still you chose me when that A.I. forced you to choose. Do you have any idea how much that means to me?"

He tilted the prince's head up so he could gaze into those beautiful, mismatched blue eyes he adored so much. "I heard you," he said softly. "I heard you tell me how sorry you were. You didn't think I heard you, but I did. But in all of that, not once did you ask for forgiveness."

"I don't deserve it."

"But you do!" Keith cried. "You do. What happened to make you so self-critical?"

Lance looked down and away from Keith's face, but said nothing.

"Even now, you won't tell me?" Keith whispered, moving his hand down so cup Lance's face, stroking the cheek bone with his thumb. "Are you afraid?" Lance shut his eyes. "What are you afraid of? Me?"

Lance sighed through his nose and admitted softly, "Partially, yes."

Keith stiffened but refused to back down. "Because of what happened in the pod?" he asked.

"You didn't seen your face," Lance murmured, shuddering. "You eyes... They weren't... They were so... Galra." Keith flinched but Lance continued. "It reminded me of Sendak."

Keith felt his heart drop. He swallowed thickly. "I...I'm so-"

"Don't," Lance murmured, pressing a single finger against Keith's lips. "I know that wasn't you."

Keith grabbed the prince's hand in an almost painful grip and glowered at Lance. "Why can't I apologize?" he demanded. "Why is it that only you can apologize and I can't? I know I hurt you," he said fiercely. "I _know_ I did. I saw your face when I came out of it. You were _terrified._ " Lance winced and looked away. "I'm sorry, Lance. I should never have let my instincts control me like that." He let his head fall back on the pillow with a sigh. "I'm usually better than that."

Lance was silent for several ticks before sighing and leaning down to rest his head on Keith's chest. "I'm sorry," he whispered. He felt the red paladin's chest rise and fall in a sigh. "I think…" His heart ached and his stomach danced with starbug wings. "I think I may be in love with you," he said almost too softly to be heard. But he felt Keith's chest give a stuttered movement in surprise and knew his words hadn't been missed. "And that terrifies me."

"May I ask why?" Keith asked after a tick.

"Because," Lance said with a sigh, "I'm broken, Keith. I have so many problems, so many secrets, some I may never be able to tell you, and I…" He closed his eyes and tried to imagine life like this: safe in Keith's embrace, relaxed and at ease, and no war to demand his attention. "I don't know how to love like you need me to. I can flirt and I can play, but I don't know how to love. I have no experience. I don't even know what say to make someone love me back."

"You don't have to for me," Keith said, resting a hand on Lance's back and rubbing along the prince's spine in soothing motions. "I already love you."

A tear escaped Lance's eye, trailing over the bridge of his nose and down his other cheek. "Why though? Why me?"

Keith thought for a moment. "Because you're decisive," he said, startling the prince. "When you make a decision, you stick with it. You're loyal. Stupidly loyal."

Lance made to sit up and give Keith and annoyed glare but the hand on his back held him in place so he relaxed and continued to listen.

"You have this way of moving that reminds me of waves," Keith said. "Smooth and rhythmic. You'll do anything to protect the people you care about. You're ready to do what needs to be done to get what you need."

Lance grimaced, reminded of what he'd planned to do with Keith after escaping the Galra battlecruiser before he decided he liked the halfbreed.

"You're beautiful," Keith said in a tone that was so casual that it took Lance a tick to comprehend what Keith said and blush a bright, vibrant red. "You're eyes and entrancing. I don't know if you realize it, but you sway your hips when you walk and it's very hard not to stare at your bottom when that happens. And your voice is like…"

Lance waited in silence, flushed and heart fluttering. This was not what he'd been expecting when he'd asked Keith why he loved him. He'd been expecting to only hear something along the lines of, 'because you're my mate,' and that be the end of it. But this was something much deeper, more thought out, and much more than a simple mating would cause Keith to think or feel. It left Lance speechless and fumbling for a response to all of this.

"Your voice is like the call of wake angels," Keith said. "I've only ever heard them once but I thought it was the most entrancing sound I'd ever heard." The hand on Lance's back moved up to grasp the back of Lance's neck gently. "Until I heard your voice."

Lance may have whimpered a bit. Perhaps because Keith heard it and wanted to comfort him or perhaps Keith did it because he wanted to. Either way, when the hand on his neck began to massage the tense muscles there, Lance felt his heart stutter and his breath catch. Whether Keith realized it or not, the hold was possessive and comforting in a way Lance never thought he would feel or understand.

"When I first saw you on that battlecruiser," Keith said, "I thought you were a nuisance. A nuisance with a pretty face, but a nuisance nonetheless. Then you changed your form and I was stunned. Even though you were clearly a captive of that bastard," he squeezed Lance's neck soothingly, "you still found the energy to tease me. But when you bared your throat to me…"

"I was testing you," Lance said, toying with the fabric of Keith's shirt, unwilling to meet the red paladin's eyes from the shame of the memory. "I had to know which sexual caste you fell into."

"I know," Keith said. "I knew then too. I pointed it out, if you recall. I knew exactly what you were doing but I let you do because I was selfish and wanted you to do it. You were the only one who had ever willingly submitted to me before. I admit, I was confused when you flirted with me. But when you didn't stop, even after we'd escaped and before you found I'd mated you, it… I didn't want you to stop." He squeezed Lance's neck again, teasing the sensitive skin with his nails. "I never want you to stop."

Lance breathed a dangerously unsteady sigh. "I'll keep that in mind," he said.

"But however much I love hearing you speak to me," Keith said, tightening his hold on Lance's neck and brushing a sharp nail down the curve of the prince's chin, "I adore hearing you say my full name; particularly when you're falling apart as I pound you into the bed and-"

"Alright," Lance said, pushing himself up from Keith's chest. "I think that's enou-"

Suddenly, his back hit the bed and Keith was on top of him. The red paladin's hands pinned Lance's biceps to the sheets and his legs straddled the prince's hips. There was nowhere for him to go, nowhere to hide, and no way to escape. It sent a thrill through Lance's body setting nervous alight with tingling sensitivity. He focused on keeping his breathing calm and even as he looked up into Keith's eyes directly above him.

"I wasn't finished," Keith said.

Lance swallowed thickly but found he couldn't look away from those dark violet and gold eyes. So he allowed himself to sink into the mattress and resigning himself to listening to Keith speak.

"Good boy."

Lance shivered and Keith smirked.

"You thought I missed that, didn't you?" he whispered to the startled prince. "You thought I missed how you reacted when I praised you. I don't miss much when it comes to you, Lance."

The flush that had been slowly fading from Lance's cheeks as he forced himself to relax returned with a flaming vengeance.

"I don't miss the way you blush and your scent thickens when you feel my eyes on you. I don't miss the way you enjoy being pinned and taken by me over and over again," he said in a low voice that did unholy things to the prince's heart. Keith's violet eyes darkened making his golden eyes glow in the shadow he cast over Lance's body. "I don't miss the way you sigh and squeeze me when I knot inside you like it was everything you ever wanted." One of Lance's legs twitched. "I don't miss the way you beg for more even as you resist my commands to submit."

Keith grinned all teeth and it was cruel and sultry and Lance loved the way it made his breathing hitch. "Speaking of," Keith said, leaning down so his forearms rested on the bed but never released Lance's arms from his grip. "I don't miss the way you resist my commands even though we both know you always submit in the end." He leaned lower so his lips brushed Lance's with every word he spoke, teasing the prince by being just out of reach. "Admit it Lance," he murmured, his hot breath tantalizing against the prince's skin. "You want to submit to me. You want me to take the control from you and let you follow and obey. You know I will stop if you tell me to. You know you're safe with me."

Lance couldn't breathe. He couldn't think or form words. His body was singing like a perfectly tuned phorminx string.

"I don't miss much," Keith whispered before leaning back, smirking when Lance instinctively tried to lift his head to follow. Then his smirk softened to something tender. "I love you, Lance," he said, watching the prince's cheeks burn and loving the fact he was responsible for it. "I love you so much it hurts."

Lance had no words. He couldn't find his voice. He could barely breathe. It felt like his entire body was tingling with energy but he was too afraid to move. This was safe. This was all he ever wanted but never dared dream would actually become reality. This wasn't healthy. Nor was this perfect. But this was what they had.

He lifted his forearm and wrapped his fingers gently around Keith's arm, unable to move any further as long as his biceps were still pinned to the bed. This was real. It was terrifying, but this was safe. Here was safe.

He tried to speak, but again words failed him. He swallowed and tried once more.

"Oh."

He flushed, feeling stupid and pathetic. Of all the things he could have said, the only thing to come out of his mouth was 'oh.' He wanted to sink into the mattress and die of shame. Too bad physics prevented that.

"I…um." He licked his lips nervously, feeling Keith's eyes on him, watching his every move, and found it incredibly hard to focus. "I…I'm sorry."

Keith sighed and Lance hurried to correct himself.

"No. No, it's not what you think," he said quickly, tightening his hold on Keith's arm. "I'm sorry for having trouble with words." He gulped. "I'm not… I've never courted anyone before. I've never even been interested in anyone in that way before. I have no idea what I'm doing."

"Neither do I," Keith said. "You're my first everything, to be honest."

Lance closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Yes, that… Mm. No pressure or anything," he mumbled. Keith chuckled and it made Lance's heart jump. "I've seen a few people courting on Altea but they never involved me. Lauma taught most of what I know and that worked out well until…" He bit his lip and looked away.

"I'm sorry," Keith said sympathetically.

"It wasn't your fault," Lance said. "Besides, you would probably be sorry if you knew…"

"If I knew what?"

Lance glanced up at Keith, saw those wide, curious eyes with no hatred or distrust in them and wanted so badly to tell Keith everything. But would Allura approve? Was it really his place to say? Would it be best if Keith knew? Would Keith think less of him if he knew?

He sighed. Perhaps just a bit wouldn't hurt, too much.

"Did you know I'm a Druid?" he asked timidly.

Keith winced but nodded. "I figured it out when I saw you attack us like a Druid," he said grimly. "Have you always been able to…do that?"

Lance sighed and rubbed Keith's arm absently with his fingers. "Yes and no," he said, shifting his gaze to the ceiling over Keith's shoulder. "No, I didn't know how before I was taught. But yes, I was always capable of it. Not all Druids are capable of doing that naturally, but most can be taught although their skills will vary widely."

Keith hesitated before asking, "Why didn't you ever use that lightning bolt power before? We could have used that on the battlecruiser or on the Balmera."

Lance sighed. "Because it's dangerous to both the user and the victim," he said. "It's draining more than almost any other attack. Also, if my concentration drifts ever so slightly, I could lose control and harm myself as well as my victim."

Keith nodded slowly, allowing himself to ease down so he lay entirely on Lance's body. When the prince didn't seem to mind, he freed Lance's arms from his grip in favor of folding them on his mate's chest and resting his chin on them.

"So, what aren't you telling me about it?" he asked, eyeing Lance shrewdly.

He bounced when Lance huffed, flicking his ears mildly at the abrupt movement before letting them relax again.

"You're sharp when you feel like it," Lance teased in mild annoyance.

Keith shrugged. "I'm always sharp," he said. "I just prefer to keep my claws retracted most of the time."

"Yes, well if your wit was as sharp as your claws, then you would have clawed off my clothes by now," Lance snarked.

Keith lifted an eyebrow and flicked an ear. "I don't think that would be the best thing to do right now," he said.

Immediately, Lance sobered. "No, I suppose not," he agreed reluctantly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"Don't be sorry," Keith said, reaching out and tapping Lance's chest with his fingernail. "Although, don't think I haven't noticed your deflection. I want an answer to my question."

Lance groaned but sighed as he thought about his answer. "It's… Throwing a quintessence bolt is dangerous, as I said before. But I didn't tell you why it was dangerous."

"You said you could lose control of it," Keith countered.

Lance nodded. "Yes, but I didn't tell you why." He shifted to a more comfortable position, wrapping his arms around Keith's back. "It's dangerous because it requires opening one's quintessence up to manipulation. It's the time when we're most powerful, but on the other hand it's the time when we're most vulnerable. During that time one could, theoretically, take control of someone else's quintessence and use it as energy to replace our own waning quintessence. But it also means our opponent could do the same."

Keith hummed. "And if they did steal your quintessence?"

"Then they could essentially bleed me dry until I become nothing but withered husk," Lance answered. "Or…"

Keith made no audible show of interest, but his ears did flick up attentively.

"Or," Lance said cautiously, "if I'm fast enough, I could resonate with them and destroy us both." He shrugged. "If I'm lucky, I could ascend before dying completely myself, but that would be stupid if I took them with me. The last thing we would need was an overpowered Druid with all of the innate abilities that come with ascending. Not to mention they would have access to the Eternal River."

Keith flicked his ears and settled his chin on his arms.

"You have no idea what I just said, do you?" Lance said with a tolerant smile.

Keith flushed. "I understand some of it," he said. "I just did my best to avoid the Druids. They were bad news."

"Mm. And me?" Lance asked.

Keith eyed the prince. "Meh, interesting at best but hardly something I can't handle."

He smirked and Lance smacked him in the head. It didn't wipe the smirk from Keith's face, in fact it made it bigger, but it made Lance feel better. They spent the rest of the evening talking. It wasn't until they settled into a calm silence that Lance found the courage to ask a question that had been burning in his mind.

"I won't do it right," he said in a soft voice. "I'll probably mess up often, actually. But, if you'll allow it, I'd like... I'd like to court you Keithek."

Keith lifted his head and gazed down at Lance with wide eyes glazed with sleep. But his smile was brighter than the Daystar and warmed Lance's heart a thousand times more. "I'd like that," Keith said.

Eventually they fell sleep, both with smiles on their faces. Though neither of them could remember who fell asleep first.


	85. PART 3 - 85: Amethyst

**A/N:** Sorry this is shorter than usual. My family is dogsitting a Christmas puppy for a friend and I swear I am not getting much sleep. The thing has a loud, shrill bark/howl/whine and is currently in my room. I now have a splitting headache. So I managed to write as much as I could before calling it a night.

That said, Merry Christmas~! **  
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 **Chapter summary:** In which Hunk finds answers with Coran and Shiro and creates more questions in his wake. **  
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 **85: Amethyst - encourages inner peace, stone of meditation and spirituality**

Shiro sat on his bunk with his elbows on his thighs and his head in his hands. Coran sat by his side with a comforting hand on his back. The advisor had stayed by Shiro's side since he first found him. He had patiently listened to Shiro babble through his panic attack and made no show of any emotion other than concern and sympathy. Coran's steadfast presence became a pillar of stability that Shiro grasped and held on tight to. He used the advisor to wrangle himself out of his spiraling panic and back to the present.

Sendak was gone, dead, ejected into space. He wasn't coming back. He couldn't come back. Sendak was gone permanently.

Shiro took a deep breath and let it out in a long, steady sigh. "Thanks," he said wearily, "for tolerating me."

"I wasn't tolerating anything, Shiro," Coran said gently. "I was needed. I don't consider being there when a friend needs me to be a job. It's something I am proud to do. You're my friend, Shiro." He smiled when the black paladin looked up at him with puffy, reddened eyes. "You needed me and I was here. I will _always_ be here when you need me."

A fragile smile made its way across Shiro's face before he rested his chin on his hands. He sighed again in exhaustion. "That really means a lot," Shiro said. "I'm sorry I made a mess of myself."

Coran groaned. "First of all," he said, holding up one finger, "you did _not_ make a mess of yourself. You were tortured. Torture takes many forms, Shiro. Many of those forms leave no visible scars. Those forms are the often the cruelest forms of torture. No one knows you've suffered, no one knows you're in pain because there are no visible signs until a breakdown in inevitable."

Shiro closed his eyes and nodded mutely.

"Secondly," Coran continued, "I cannot even begin to imagine what you went through, Shiro. I can guess but I doubt my guesses are anywhere near the reality. I'm so very sorry you had to suffer like that. I wish I could take at least some of your pain from your shoulders. But all I can do is listen and be there."

"And that's a lot," Shiro said looking up at Coran sincerely. "It really is a lot. Just having you listen is…" He shrugged. "I guess what I'm trying to say is thank you. You didn't have to."

"No, I don't suppose I did," Coran said. "But, like I said before, I didn't do it because I had to. I did it because you're my friend and I wanted to."

A faint smile grew on the black paladin's face. "You know, on the flip side," he said, "if there's anything _you_ need to talk about, I'm all ears."

For some reason, Coran gave Shiro the oddest look which morphed into a warm, welcoming smile. "You already have listened to me before," he said. "You listened for a good long while when you helped me in the crystal chamber, if I recall correctly."

Shiro grinned. "It's not a one-time offer," he said.

Whatever Coran was going to say was cut off by a soft chime at the black paladin's door.

"Hello?" Shiro called curiously.

The door slid open to reveal the yellow paladin standing awkwardly in the hallway, rubbing his hands together nervously. "Uh, h-hi," Hunk said with a shaky smile. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"No, no. Come on in," Shiro said, waving Hunk inside. "Coran said you were the one who found me when I…"

"Oh, uh, yeah, I did." Hunk stepped inside and studied Shiro's face closely for a few seconds. "How are you doing now, by the way? Are you feeling any better?"

"I'm…well, I'm not fine," Shiro said reluctantly. "But I'm okay for now, I suppose. What did you need?"

"I, um, I actually had a question for Coran," he said, turning his eyes to the advisor.

"Oh, would you like to talk in private?" Coran asked.

"No, it's not like that," Hunk said quickly. "Actually, I think you need to hear this too, Shiro."

The black paladin sat up straighter and gestured for Hunk so sit on his bunk next to him. "What is it?" he asked.

The yellow paladin sat down slowly and took a minute to compose himself before putting his question into words. "I…" He licked his lips and tried again. "I talked to Lance…about what happened. H-He said you were wrong about the warped quintessence stuff."

"How do you mean?" Coran asked, intrigued.

Hunk bit his lip and his eyes flickered to Shiro before looking away. "He said the quintessence didn't…" He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "He implied the quintessence didn't control him like a puppet so much as -how did he put it- amplify his negative thoughts and emotions. He said the desire to kill us or," he shrugged, "make us go away was always there. He just never acted on it until the warped quintessence made him do it. What did he mean by that?"

Coran looked confused and mildly regretful. "Oh dear," he muttered.

"It sounds to me like his ability to resist was muted," Shiro said softly, glancing at Coran for confirmation. "I… I think I remember something like that happening in the arena. It usually involved a prisoner who refused to fight for some reason so a Druid would," he waved his hand, "do something to them and suddenly they were out fighting without a problem."

"Y-yes," the advisor agreed slowly. "That does sound... Oh, by the Lions," he groaned.

"So, you mean Lance meant what he said when wanted to kill us?" Hunk asked, looking between the two other men with wide eyes.

"Put it this way," Coran said. "If someone hurt your best friend, hurt them very badly, for a brief moment you would want them to hurt too, right? Make them suffer for hurting your friend? Like maybe punch them in the face?" Hunk nodded reluctantly, a shameful blush in his cheeks. "But you resist the urge to punch them because violence merely begets violence." Again, Hunk nodded, but this time with less shame. "That is your ability to resist. You resisted the desire to hurt your friend's assailant, but it didn't stop you from still wishing, however briefly, they would suffer."

Hunk flushed which was answer enough. Coran sighed and pursed his lips. "Then to borrow that example, if I understand what you tell me Lance said aright, the warped quintessence amplified Lance's desire to harm his friend's assailant but muted his ability to resist that urge and stop himself before causing harm."

Shiro nodded. "That makes sense," he admitted. "Take away a person's self-control, and even the best person can become a monster."

Coran shot the black paladin a sharp look which Shiro didn't miss. Thankfully, Shiro offered the advisor a reassuring smile. "Don't worry," he said. "I didn't mean anything by that."

Coran nodded and turned back to Hunk. "Did that explanation help at all?" he asked.

Hunk nodded. "It-yeah it did." He dropped his gaze to his hands. "He said something else though. About Alfor, or-" he corrected quickly, "that A.I. Alfor thing that tried to kill us."

The Altean advisor winced but hummed. "Go on."

"He said he hated Keith when he was under the influence," Hunk began, "because his father told his Keith was a Galra. So, that's all he saw when he looked at Keith, a Galra."

Coran hummed thoughtfully. "As I've said, Alteans were a peaceful people," he said. "We never got involved in wars or politic affairs if we could avoid it. But we were known for our peaceful explorations, diplomatic neutrality, and our drive to aid anyone who needed it. The Galra were once our ally in the latter venture."

"Yeah, I have a hard time seeing that in my head," Hunk admitted.

"Yes well, they weren't always as hateful as they are now," Coran said. "In fact, one of the previous paladins of Voltron was a Galra."

"What?" both Shiro and Hunk gasped in shocked horror.

"Oh yes," Coran continued easily. "One paladin was a Galra, two were Teiidae, and two were Altean. The Lions of Voltron don't pay heed to something as superfluous as race or species. They look at the quintessence, the very essence of their chosen paladin. None of them were evil to begin with."

"Who was it?" Hunk asked warily. "The Galran paladin, which Lion did they pilot?"

Coran hesitated, then shook his head. "I would tell you, but I don't want you to judge that particular Lion or paladin based on a previous paladin. No one is perfect, Hunk. Everyone makes mistakes, even the Lions of Voltron." He sighed and looked away. "And people change."

Hunk nodded slowly, absorbing the information. It was Shiro who spoke up next.

"But, you were saying about the Alteans and the Galra?" the black paladin pressed.

"Hm? Oh, right." The advisor sat up and continued his narrative. "Well, as I said, Alteans and Galra were allies at the time. But when they betrayed us and started the Great War… Well, needless to say, it changed things."

"I bet," Hunk mumbled just loud enough to hear.

"From birth, Alteans are taught never to judge or discriminate against another based on their appearance, but by their character," Coran explained. "After all, if we can readily change our appearance, then why should we judge others based on theirs? Who knows, we might have to take their form one day."

He shrugged. "We were taught this process of thinking, anyway," Coran said. "That doesn't mean it took hold with everyone. There were always a few who believed Alteans were better than the rest of the universe, but they were few in number and greatly outmatched by those who did not judge. Personal judgmental thoughts were one thing, opening speaking those judgements was considered highly disrespectful to both the other species and to Alteans."

"After the Great War began, however," Coran said, "much of that changed. Alteans quickly learned to hate the Galra for what they'd done to the royal family and many innocent Altean lives. Men, women, children, almost everyone participating in the juniberry festival at the capitol died from the attack. We didn't bother hiding our judgement of the Galra after that. Perhaps that is where Alfor's command stemmed from," he suggested, glancing at Hunk.

The yellow paladin considered the suggestion for a moment before shaking his head. "No," he said. "Lance said it happened before the war. He said the reason why he was chosen instead of Lauma wa-"

"Lauma?" Coran said in surprise. "She was never a choice to be the Sentinel. It was always supposed to be Lance."

"That's not what Lance said," Hunk said.

Before Coran could argue, Shiro held up a hand. "Okay," he said calmly. "What did Lance say happened?"

Hunk flushed. "He said Alfo didn't choose Lauma because she was in love with a Galra."

Coran scoffed. "Lauma?" he said. "Preposterous. She was too independent to let herself be tied down to anyone except her family."

"Well Lance said Lauma was in love with a Galra and that's why Alfor rejected her," Hunk said firmly. "He said Alfor found Lauma's relationship 'unacceptable,'" he said using air quotes. "He wouldn't say why he thought Alfor found it unacceptable, just that he did." He sighed in mild annoyance. "He wouldn't tell me who the Galra was either. He really needs to lay off the secrets. You all do. _We_ all do. They're not doing us any good. It's just causing more and more problems."

"But that…"

Hunk glanced at Coran whose face was scrunched in befuddlement. The advisor was clearly having trouble accepting what he'd just heard.

"But Lauma never… I would have noticed…"

"It's okay, Coran," Shiro said, patting the confused advisor on the back comfortingly. "We all miss things."

"But it doesn't make sense," Coran insisted. "Who was Lauma with and why would Alfor reject her for it?"

"I doubt we'll ever know," the black paladin said grimly. "We shouldn't dwell on it."

Shiro cherished the few minutes of silence that followed that conversation. That is until he noticed Hunk twitching and looking around nervously. "Hunk?" he asked, startling the yellow paladin. "Was there something else you wanted to ask?"

Hunk's entire form drooped. "Shiro," he began, "when… If you have nightmares of the bad things you saw, how would you deal with it?"

Shiro sat up straight and stared at Hunk seriously. "Why?" he asked.

The yellow paladin's shoulders drooped further. "Because… Lance said he has bad dreams about that night his family died," he admitted finally. "He said he keeps dreaming of watching them die, of doing nothing, and holding one of his sisters in his arms as she dies. It… I don't think he's handling it very well and I was wondering if you could give me some advice to pass on to him when I see him."

Shiro blinked, then visibly wilted. "There really isn't anything I can say that would help," he said slowly. "He talked to you about it, that's good. Talking tends to help me." He glanced up and shared a smile with Coran. "But other than that, I don't know what to say."

"Besides," the adviser spoke up suddenly, "you have to remember: for you, Altea has been gone for over 10,000 standard periods. For us, that time is much shorter. As far as my memory goes, the royal family was murdered a mere ten standard turns ago followed almost immediately by the Great War. Everything is still close and immediate for Allura, Lance, and myself. Our wounds are still fresh in our minds and souls."

Both Hunk and Shiro looked away sadly.

"Well," Hunk said eventually, "on the bright side, Keith finally said the three magic words to Lance."

"Did he now?" Shiro said, meeting Hunk's gaze with a warm smile. "I'm proud of him. Let's hope it was well received."

"Considering I haven't heard any yelling or crying or stomping out yet, I think it's a good bet they'll be fine," Hunk said.

"I'm sorry," Coran said. "Forgive me, but what three magic words are you referring to?"

"'I love you,'" Hunk answered with a grin.

"Ah," the advisor said, nodding sagely. "Yes, I'm sure that will be handled with care one way or the other."

"Let's hope for the better," Shiro said.


	86. PART 3 - 86: Turritella

**A/N:** Ok. Y'all wanted answers, here are lots of answers along with angst, emotions, feels, and yelling. Lots of yelling...

 **Chapter summary:** In which Pidge demands answers and gets more than she bargained for. **  
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 **86:Turritella - eases domestic relations and group interaction**

Allura took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. Her green paladin looked up at her with wide, worried eyes and asked, "You okay?"

Allura gave Pidge a weak smile and placed a hand on the paladin's shoulder, squeezing it gently. "Not yet," she said. "But I will be." She nodded as if to convince herself of her own words and stood, wiping the remaining tears from her eyes. "Right now, I need to check on the others. We have things to do."

"They can wait," Pidge said, watching the princess fix her hair and straighten her dress so she somewhat resembled her usual self. "Everyone deserves a little crying now and then. It's healthy."

"Maybe," Allura said. "But I'm not the only one who needs to cry and now is not the time."

"Shiro is a mess," Pidge said sternly, standing from the bed and shooting the princess a glare. She crossed her arms and planted her feet. "Last I heard, Hunk was taking care of Shiro, and Coran was with Keith. That was last night. It's been hours since then. Who knows how they are now."

"Precisely," Allura said, nodding. "That's why we need to make sure they're all alright." She sniffed and wiped her nose as inconspicuously as possible. "I can cry later."

Pidge huffed and rolled her eyes but nodded anyway. "Okay," she said. "Why don't we start with Shiro first? I'm sure he'd appreciate-"

"Where's Lance?"

Pidge put a tight lid on her temper and somehow managed to say in a relatively calm voice, "Last I saw, he was on the bridge piloting the Castleship away from the exploding star."

"But we aren't moving now," Allura said thoughtfully. "We haven't been moving for a while, so he must be resting." She moved to her bedroom door and stepped out into the hallway when the door slid open.

"Why are you so worried about him?" Pidge said, hurrying after the princess.

"Because he's my brother," Allura said like the answer was obvious. "He would do the same for me or any of us."

"Like hell he would," Pidge grumbled.

The princess stopped in her tracks and turned to the green paladin with a stern look in her turquoise eyes. "What do you mean by that?" she demanded.

"I mean like hell Lance would care about us as much as he cares about you," Pidge said angrily. "Particularly Keith. You weren't there. _You_ didn't see what he did to Keith before he took off and left us on Earth until the Red Lion came and got us."

"And what did he do?" Allura said, narrowing her eyes.

Pidge, unafraid of the princess's anger, crossed her arms and glared right back. "He rejected Keith," she hissed. "I said he was going to kill Keith after Keith helped him escape the battlecruiser. He said he never saw Keith as a life partner. He threw a temper tantrum a five-year-old would be proud of and then ran away like a fucking coward. And _then_ he turns around and attacks us with purple lightning bolts. Like, what the fuck! Since when could he do that? Why didn't he do that when we needed that like on the Balmera? Hm? Why now? And you want to know the _best_ part? Even while Lance was fighting us, Keith tried to defend him. _Keith_ tried to _defend_ Lance. _That's_ what Lance did. So you tell me, princess. Would Lance worry about anyone but you? Hm? Would he? Would he _really?"_

Allura stood still, her gaze frigid and furious. "Are you finished?" she said in a cold tone.

"For now, yeah," Pidge said angrily. "I'm sure I can come up with more reasons but I'm too mad to think of them right now."

"Good. Now you listen here, Katie," Allura said, startling Pidge when she used the green paladin's real name. "Don't you ever talk about my brother like that, ever again. I don't care if you're a paladin or if you're an Altean or the personification of Voltron itself. _Never_ talk about my brother like that. Now, as for Keith, if you were the one captured-"

"My _family_ is already captured, lady," Pidge snapped. "My dad and my brother are both still captives of the Galra."

"Alright then," Allura purred. "If you found out where your family is being held and all you had to do was pretend to befriend a Galra and get him to bring you to them, would you kill that Galra when you were done with them or would you let them live and possibly let them raise the alarm?"

Pidge stuttered. "That- This has nothing to do with me. That's completely different!"

"Oh yes?" Allura asked. "Then how about if someone you barely knew knocked you unconscious and put a tattoo on your neck for all to see that labelled you as theirs in every way that mattered? You're essentially their possession now, and everyone in that person's culture knows it. And _in_ that culture, that person is of the highest caste and has the right to control you, tell you what to do, where to go, and have sex with you whenever and however they want, whether you like it or not? They did all of that without your knowledge or permission. Would you stand for that?"

"N-no," Pidge said awkwardly. "Besides, that'd be pedophilia."

"Pedo- No, no new words right now," Allura said quickly, dismissing the confusing word. "The point is, that's _exactly_ what Keith did. Whether he meant to or not, whether he actually thinks like the majority of the Galra culturally or now, doesn't matter. He still mated my brother without his knowledge or permission and _thankfully_ Lance cares about him."

Pidge scoffed. "Cares my ass. If he cared about Keith, he wouldn't have rejected him."

"I doubt Lance meant to reject him," Allura said.

"Of course you would," Pidge said. "You're his sister. You're supposed to think the best of him. You're both siblings, you're both family, you're both Altean, you're both in cahoots on just about everything, Lance just about killed all of the rest of us because _your father_ told him to."

"That was _not_ my father," Allura hissed furiously.

"Yeah? Well it sure looked like it, lady," Pidge said. "And what about that whole magic-purple-lightning-bolt stuff Lance fought us with, huh? You never even mentioned that."

"It's a Druidic power," the princess said primly. "The fact he can do that at all is something to be proud of. Back on Altea-"

"Back on Altea," Pidge groaned. "I got news for you, lady, Altea's gone. G-o-n-e. Gone. So stop dwelling on the past and focus on the present. The Gala are here now. Zarkon is here now. _We,"_ she gestured to herself and the other paladins' bedroom doors lining both sides of the hallway, "are here now. Maybe you should start thinking about that."

"Don't push me, Katie," Allura said softly.

"Don't call me that!" Pidge shouted suddenly. "Only my Mom and my Dad and my brother have the right to call me that. Not you."

"Then don't talk about my brother that way," Allura said calmly, clasping her hands together in front of her.

Pidge sneered. "Look at you. Always taking your baby brother's side. He's an angel. He's perfect in every way-"

"The quiznak he is," Allura said. "He's nowhere near perfect. He's obnoxious and ridiculous and I love him that way. Yes, he has his problems. We all do-"

"Problems?" Pidge cried. "You didn't see Keith when Lance was through with him. Keith was completely unresponsive. And when he _did_ finally start responding, he was singing Lance's praises. _Your_ brother is _abusing_ Keith and I am fucking sick and tired of _watching_ it happen!"

"This isn't the best time to-"

"Oh, the best time to what? Talk?" Pidge scoffed. "Newsflash, lady. It's _never_ the best time to talk. There will never _be_ a 'best' time to talk. There's just time and, quite frankly, I'm running low on patience and therefore running low on time. So for god's sake, you'd better start explaining. And I don't mean just this little mess either. I mean this whole shitstorm. Everything. What the frak is going on here?"

Allura looked thoroughly confused. "I…thought we were arguing?" she said, suddenly unsure.

"No, no duh we're arguing," Pidge groaned. "I mean this whole shitstorm with the Galra! And Lance! And you, and this ship-Castle-thing, and the Lions, and Voltron, and just _everything!"_ She threw up her hands in exasperation. "I'm _done!_ I am _so_ done with this whole thing. I don't know jack-squat about what's going on here. All I know is Galra equals bad, except Keith, who's good, and Altean equals good, except Lance, because he's an asshole-"

"Watch it," Allura warned.

"Dude, _watch me, bitch!"_ Pidge shouted. "I know so little about you and Lance and Coran, and Keith too, now that I think about it. I know so fucking little about this whole war thing that I feel like a puppet who just follows orders. Well, sorry to burst your bubble, princess, but I am _not_ a soldier who just follows orders for the heck of it."

"Uh, actually," a new voice said softly from behind Allura. Startled, both girls turned to see none other than Hunk, Shiro, and Coran, leaning out of Shiro's bedroom, wearing identical sheepish expressions on their faces. Hunk cleared his throat and continued. "Actually, you followed orders at the Galaxy Garrison whether you liked them or not."

"That was different," Pidge argued. "I signed up for that to find out what happened to my father and my brother."

"But, playing Devil's advocate here," Hunk said, holding up his hands in a placating manner, "isn't that what you did when you became a paladin too? You know, to figure out what happened to your family and save them? _And_ the universe too?"

"Well," Pidge hesitated. "Yeah. But I haven't heard shit about my family except what Shiro told us, so it's not like I've gotten much out of this."

"This isn't about getting anything out of this," Shiro said suddenly. "It's about doing what's right."

"Well what about what's right for me, huh?" Pidge demanded. "Anyone think about that? What about my brother? Last I heard, you cut him to keep him from fighting like a fucking gladiator." Shiro flinched and Pidge immediately tried to soften the blow. "Which I'm grateful for, by the way. Matt can't fight worth a crap, so you probably saved his life. But still, the fact remains that you had to do that in the first place."

Pidge turned the full force of her glare back on the princess. "The Galra came to _our_ solar system, kidnapped _my_ family, _tortured_ them, and then you and your brother show up with Coran with the Excalibur of the universe to rid the world of Zarkon and the Galra and you _really_ think that's not even the slightest bit creepy or convenient? Like what the fuck, bitch? What started this oh-so-great war 10,000 years ago, hm? What _really_ happened?"

"Pidge-"

"No!" Pidge shouted. "No, Shiro. I heard that A.I. father of yours telling Lance to kill Keith just because he was a Galra," she said turning Allura. "Don't think for a second I missed that. It took _that_ for me to see that I'd basically just been taking everything you've said for granted without ever hearing the other side of this. Sure, what I've seen the Galra do is horrible and unacceptable. But it's been 10,000 years! How do I know it wasn't always like this, huh? How do I know things didn't _become_ like this over time? There isn't a single country or empire that stayed one hundred percent true to their original purpose or laws when they were created. Every single one of them changed. And even if they didn't change, _something_ must have happened to create that country or empire in the first place."

"God," Pidge groaned, running her hands through her already messy hair. "Even the Nazis had their start because the Germans were feeling victimized by the Allies after World War 1, particularly by France. I mean, you gotta admit the whole Treaty of Versailles was a load of bullshit. Blaming just Germany for the whole war when anyone with any sense knows there were other countries that were just as responsible-"

"Pidge," Shiro cut in. "That has nothing to do with-"

" _My point is,"_ Pidge yelled over the black paladin, "that the Nazis came to power because they felt like it was the best choice at the time. True, not everyone agreed with that idea. And true, that idea was dead wrong. Hindsight is always 20/20, after all. But what about the Galra? You said yourselves that the Galra were your allies. So what changed? What could have been so horrible that the Galra would suddenly turn on you and start killing you? And why didn't anyone come to help you? Doesn't any of that seem the least bit suspicious? Anyone?"

She dropped her arms slapping them on her sides in the silence that followed her rant. No one spoke. Everyone looked shocked. Pidge sighed and slumped.

"Okay, then why don't we start with something simple," she said, propping her hands on her hips. "Like the previous paladins. Who were they? What were they like? What race or species or whatever were they? Were any of them Galra? Were any of-"

"The black paladin was a Galra."

Pidge stiffened and aimed a glare at the speaker. The others in the hallway looked surprised by Lance's appearance. Especially with Keith awake and standing next to the prince in Lance's bedroom doorway. Lance leaned against the doorjamb and sighed, meeting Pidge's gaze tiredly.

"He was the leader of Voltron, a loyal friend, and a great leader," Lance continued. "People of all species would have followed him to their graves. He was a proud, powerful man."

"The black paladin was…" Shiro whispered, his face white as a sheet.

Lance ignored Shiro's shocked words and forged onwards. "Joonah was the red paladin. She was Teiidae as was the green paladin, Halyn."

"Teiidae?" Hunk asked in a nervous voice.

"Nyma is Teiidae," Lance said, tilting his head towards Hunk without breaking Pidge gaze. "They're a race of females only who tend to live solitary lives. They reproduce asexually, but that doesn't mean they don't enjoy the act of sex itself. If they do decide to replicate the act, the one that plays the female will produce eggs to lay and raise while the one who plays the male won't produce any eggs. Joonah and Halyn were occasionally sexual partners when one of them wanted to mother a clutch."

"Lance," Coran said softly.

"Sanye was the yellow paladin," Lance continued, ignoring the advisor. "He was Altean and the strongest of the paladins physically, aside from the black paladin, but had the biggest heart. He couldn't stand to see anyone or anything hurt. I heard so many stories about the team having to drop what they were doing to help a young lin that was still learning to fledge or a flower that had been trampled."

"Then there was Tayla, the blue paladin," Lance said, finally dropping his gaze to the floor. "She was Altean and a good friend. She enjoyed swimming and had an incredible ability to adapt to almost any given situation with ease. She had a motherly demeanor and was slow to anger. But when she _did_ get angry, my only suggestion is run as fast as you can in the opposite direction." He bit his lip. "She died at Zarkon's hands. I… I don't know how the most of the other paladins died although I'm sure it was peacefully."

"Most?" Pidge pressed. Lance avoided her gaze and Pidge narrowed her eyes, thinking over the prince's words. "So," she said, "what about the name of the black paladins? Don't think I didn't miss you omitting him. Who was he?"

"Lance…" Allura said gently.

Lance shifted, tilting his head to Keith who reached up to grip the back of his neck. Curiously, the move made the tension in Lance's shoulders ease somewhat. "I'd rather not say," he said.

"Yeah? Well fuck your secrets," Pidge said. "Look where all of these secrets landed us? What could be so bad about this person's name? Unless you're afraid of what we'll think when you tell us. Why won't you tell us? Why won't you just say the bl-"

"Zarkon," Lance said, lifting his gaze to Pidge unerringly. "The black paladin was Zarkon."

Pidge stilled, her eyes wide. Hunk paled and both he and Pidge tuned to Shiro who looked like he was going to throw up. Coran reached up to place a hand on Shiro's shoulder but the former Garrison pilot recoiled from the touch.

"What?" Shiro gasped. "Tell me it's not true."

"I can't," Lance said, turning his gaze to Keith who looked just as stunned as the other paladins. "You have to understand, Zarkon wasn't always…as he is now. He was a great leader, a friend, and a good listener. He even taught classes at the Druid Collegium. He taught _me._ No one ever suspected he would possibly change so drastically. But after Lauma died, he…"

"Lauma?" Allura repeated in confusion. "What does Lauma have to do with this?"

"Lauma was Zarkon's mate, wasn't she?" Hunk asked grimly.

Lance took a deep, shaky breath and nodded.

"That's impossible," Allura said. "Lauma would never-"

"Don't act like you know everything about her, Allura," Lance said, pinning his sister with an icy glare. "You were just like father: always traveling, always away, always letting him fill your head with ideas… You were barely home as it was. You can't really be surprised that Lauma never told you she was interested in Zarkon. You weren't home enough to know."

"That's not fair," Allura said.

"Everyone in the Collegium knew about Lauma's affection for Zarkon," Lance said, rolling his eyes and wincing when his mechanical eyes stung from the movement. "The number of times she would drop in on his classes or visit him in his office were innumerable."

"I never knew," Coran murmured, his eyes wide. "I never knew."

Lance offered the advisor a half-smile. "She was going to surprise everyone at the juniberry festival after Allura was presented as the new Heir. Everyone at the Collegium knew Lauma would be chosen as your Sentinel. But then father rejected her because he didn't approve of her relationship with Zarkon, and he chose me instead."

"That's ridiculous," Allura said, facing her brother. Her face was a mix of horror and incomprehension. "Father would never do that. He and Zarkon were _friends-"_

"Yes, well, apparently they weren't," Lance snapped. "The next thing I know, father's dragging me to the temples to be purified as the next Sentinel. Then Alwida comes running to me because she's mad Lauma wouldn't be at the festival and forced me to carry her back to the green." He looked directly in Allura's eyes. "When I got there, father was nowhere in sight and Lauma was arguing with mother about something. I stayed long enough to get Alwida her drink before…"

He swallowed thickly and Pidge saw Keith squeeze Lance's neck at the same time he leaned close and nuzzled the prince's neck. Clearly Keith already knew what came next.

"Before the festival began and everyone I knew and loved died screaming," he finished. "And you want to know the worst part of it? Their corpses weren't even cold before father declared war on the Galra. Then Zarkon betrayed us and everything went to the Magog. So yes," he said, turning his gaze back to Pidge, "something did happen to cause this mess, something so terrible that it tore us apart. And yes, I do find some of it suspicious. Someone murdered practically my entire family not to mention the hundreds of innocent people out there with us that night. But I also remember no one coming to our aid, no one but the paladins minus Zarkon because he left us to join the Galra."

"And yes, I am afraid of what you think of us now," he continued. "But I honestly don't give a frak about how you see me because I _know_ how you see me. Because every time I close my eyes and dream, I see the same thing. So before you start lashing out at us for your family's suffering and how your world has been inconvenienced, why don't you shut your quiznak and consider the fact Allura, Coran, and I have lost our families, our entire race, and our entire planet only a few standard turns ago by our reckoning. It may have been 10,000 periods or years or whatever the frell kind of time keeping measurements you use, but to us it was only a few turns ago."

"I'm not belittling your suffering," Lance said. "But I am reminding you that you're not the only one inconvenienced. Nor are you the only one without all the answers. The only one who can fill in the blanks is Zarkon and quite frankly, I have no desire to see him face to face."

He glanced at his sister briefly before dropping his gaze. "Shiro," he called looking back at the black paladin, "I need you to know… You aren't Zarkon. The Black Lion didn't make a mistake. Zarkon was once a friend and an ally. People change. We didn't tell you because we wanted to protect you from his influence. The Black Lion chose you because your quintessence mirrored hers and she saw something in you that she respected. It wasn't a mistake."

* * *

Shiro hung his head and his shoulders hunched. Lance wanted to offer some kind of comfort to the black paladin but Keithek held him back.

"Don't," Keithek said softly. "Leave him be for now."

Reluctantly, the prince nodded and allowed himself to be guided back into his room. Keithek paused in the doorway, watching his mate retreat into the bathroom, no doubt to stress himself out. He sighed and glanced out at the tableau in the hallway, particularly at Pidge.

"Thank you for standing up for me," he said. "But next time, ask first. You'd be surprised how many questions can be answered if you'd just ask the person directly, rather than yell at someone not involved in the matter." His ears drooped to his hairline as he stepped back into Lance's room. "Good night," he said, and closed the door.


	87. PART 3 - 87: Apatite

**A/N:** Well, I promised Coran would take charge and that the mind meld helmets from episode 2 would come into play here. Well, here we go~ **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Coran decides enough is enough and takes matters into his own hands. **  
**

* * *

 **87: Apatite - good for communication, highly psychic  
**

"Lance?" Keithek called, looking at the bathing room where he knew Lance had retreated to.

Silence answered him like he knew it would. He sighed and made his way to the bathing room door and wasn't surprised to see Lance leaning against the counter hanging his head over the sink. Lance's eyes were closed and his shoulders hunched forward.

"Lance?" he said softly.

Lance twitched and squeezed his eyes shut tight before taking a deep breath and straightening. "I'm fine," he said.

"Lance," Keithek said, eyeing his mate seriously.

The prince wilted under the stare. "I, um, I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't want to tell you about-"

"I know," Keithek said nodding. "I wouldn't have either. For what it's worth, I don't blame you. I don't think it was the best decision to keep that a secret," he added quickly, "but I understand why you did it."

Lance sighed and looked away, shaking his head. "Maybe," he admitted. "But I don't have the answers they want or need. I can't tell them why Zarkon betrayed us, I can't tell them why my family was murdered, I can't tell them anything except that Zarkon is the enemy now and he'll kill all of us if given half the chance."

Keithek hummed. "But you don't know why," he said.

"No," Lance said, slumping. "I doubt Allura or Coran know either. One day he just…" he waved a hand weakly, "changed. He wasn't my teacher anymore. He changed and-"

"Lance!"

Keithek turned to the prince's bedroom door in surprise when he heard Coran's voice. Lance joined Keithek and blinked when he saw the advisor standing in Lance's open doorway.

"Coran?" Lance asked. "What is it?"

"I need you and Keith to come with me," Coran said.

"Bu-"

"Now," the advisor said. When neither Keithek nor Lance moved right away, Coran narrowed his eyes. "With all due respect, that was not a request. Both of you, to the common room, now."

"But why-"

"Lance," Coran said sternly. "Common room. Now."

The prince shut his mouth and immediately grabbed Keithek's wrist and hurried past the advisor into the hallway, pulling Keithek along behind him.

"That wasn't exactly what I was expecting," Keithek said, glancing over his shoulder at the advisor who followed them at a more sedate pace. "Why are we running?"

"Because Coran used _that_ tone," Lance said, as if that explained everything.

Keithek grimaced and resigned himself to following his mate down to the common room. When they stepped out of the lift, Keithek's ears twitched, catching the voices of the other paladins. Lance tensed, coming to a standstill. Keithek could guess what Lance felt. He moved up so he stood just behind the prince and reached up to grip the back of Lance's neck.

"You ready?" he asked softly.

"Not at all," Lance replied.

Nevertheless, Lance began walking again and Keithek followed closely. When they stepped into the common room, the other paladins fell silent and looked up at them with expressions varying between hatred and sympathy. Lance ignored all of them and took a seat as far away from Pidge and the other Humans as he could. Keithek sat down on Lance's right and began to get comfortable.

A soft squeaking sound made Keithek's ears twitch curiously until they zeroed in on the source. Keithek looked over to his left where Allura sat, her colorful mice settled in her lap. Rover beeped and floated over the princess's shoulder to hover between the green and yellow paladins, aiming its camera eye at Keithek. It was almost disconcerting.

"So," Hunk said in the awkward silence. "Anyone know why Coran ordered us here?"

"I ordered you to come here," the advisor said, stepping out of the hallway Keith and Lance just entered from and carrying a box in his arms, "because I've had about enough of these fights and disagreements and misunderstandings and just…everything. So," Coran said, "I'm going to have all of us participate in a training exercise."

"A training exercise?" Pidge snarled. "Really? After everything we just-"

"Yes," Coran said, interrupting. "And if you'd let me finish, Pidge Holt or Pidge Gunderson or whatever name you prefer, you'll understand." The advisor aimed a surprisingly stern glare at the green paladin, stopping her argument in her throat. "Now," he pulled out headpieces that resembled metal headbands with embedded crystalline stones in them, "each of you will put on one of these helmets. I will as well. Take one and pass it around," he said, handing the box to Hunk.

Keithek watched the yellow paladin glanced around at the group nervously before picking up one of the headpieces and putting it on his head. Hunk blushed from embarrassment but didn't remove the device.

"What are these?" Keithek asked hesitantly when Hunk passed the box to him next.

"I'll explain when they're all on," Coran said, placing his own headpiece on and adjusting it so it fit comfortably. "Now put yours on, please Keith."

Disconcerted, Keithek obediently picked up a headpiece and slipped it on his head. It did make him feel a bit stupid, but he wouldn't be the only one wearing one of these so it didn't bother him too much. He passed the box to Lance who copied Keithek's actions before passing the box to Allura.

When the box finished passing around the room, Coran took a seat between Pidge and Shiro. "Good," he said. "Now, I want all of you to listen to what I'm going to say and do exactly as I tell you. Am I clear?"

"Coran?" Shiro asked, picking at his helmet uncomfortably. "I don't mean to… I don't feel comfortable with this."

"Oh, believe me, Shiro, you'll feel much less comfortable when this is over," Coran said firmly. "But that is the point of this exercise," he added, looking around at the paladins. "We're going to ask each other questions, any questions you want. But," he said holding up a finger to forestall any questions, "each person can only ask one question at a time, and whoever they ask a question to must ask them a question in return. You must all answer honestly. We'll know if you lie."

"Uh, how will you know that exactly?" Hunk asked. "Not that I'd lie," he said quickly, waving his hands. "I just mean that, you know, how would you know if, theoretically, one of us lied?"

"The helmets are used to meld minds," Coran answered, nodding to Hunk in acknowledgement. "Your answers will become visible to everyone whether you answer out loud or not. We'll all know the true answer as well as anything else the person answering is thinking."

"But that's…" Keithek sat back, fingering his helmet in mild fear. "No offense, but that sounds a bit intrusive."

"Then maybe the lot of you should have considered that before we ended up in this situation in the first place, hm?" Coran said. "Now, I'll go first. Whoever I ask must answer honestly. Whatever they think will be visible and audible to us all. Once a truthful answer is given, you can ask me or whoever you wish whatever you want in return and we must answer honestly as well. And so on. We'll go around in a circle asking questions and answering questions until we run out of questions or I say we're done. Is that clear?"

No one spoke up, not even Allura. Satisfied, Coran nodded and looked at Keithek. "Keith," he said, "why did you decide to help Lance escape from the battlecruiser when you first met?"

Keithek hummed and glanced at Lance who had bowed his head, his cheeks flaming in shame from the memory. Keithek winced and looked away only to freeze, stunned by what he saw in the middle of the group. A holographic image of what he saw when he first met Lance in the prison cell played in full view of everyone sitting on the couches around him. The words Lance had said came back to Keithek's mind just as they rang out for all to hear from the holographic image in the center of the room.

 _"You're the Altean,"_ Keithek had said.

 _"I could be,"_ Lance had replied. _"But then again, I could be a Galra."_

Keithek felt his mouth drop open when Lance's holographic form shifted to that a Galra, a smug expression on his face. The view, the sound, everything was from Keithek's perspective, as if seen directly through Keithek's eyes.

"I…" he began, trying to find words past his shock. "I knew what he was doing," he said as the scene continued to play out in front of everyone regardless of Keithek speaking. "I knew he was using me, but I… No one had ever submitted to me willingly before."

The image of Lance grinned and Keithek felt a flood of heat fill his mind. That grin was something he'd come to attribute to the prince's sultry side. It was insanely attractive and, judging from the looks on the others' present, they were suddenly very aware of Keithek's attraction to Lance. The red paladin ducked his head in embarrassment only to notice Lance staring at him with an expression of stunned awe.

 _"Then why the needle?"_ Lance's image asked. _"Didn't think you could handle me without knocking me out first?"_

Keithek didn't have to hear the thud of memory-Lance's body striking the wall of the cell. He could still remember the feel of his hand around Lance's throat, squeezing it in warning.

 _"Hardly,"_ Keithek's memory said. _"You're not too hard to subdue."_

Memory-Lance struggled briefly in memory-Keithek's hold before pausing and tilting his head back in submission. Keithek could remember the sight, the smell, the feel of everything in that moment without the aid of the image projected in front of him. He also knew that everyone in the room were also experiencing the same sensations he had at the time. An intense blush burned his face and his ears pinned against his head with the sheer force of his embarrassment.

But he had to answer Coran's question or the memory wouldn't stop unfolding in front of everyone. It wasn't their business. It was a memory he wanted to keep to himself for his own enjoyment. The faster he answered, the faster the memory images stopped.

"I wanted to help him escape because he-"

 _"We'll die anyway with or without Zarkon,"_ memory Lance said as the scene changed abruptly, startling Keithek. _"Well I choose to die free without Zarkon. What do you choose?"_

Keithek swallowed and lifted his gaze to stare at the image of Lance. The memory Lance still had both eyes but his right was bruised and swollen almost completely shut. However, the force of that gaze still bore directly into Keithek's mind and heart.

"I..." Keithek gulped. "I want to be free," he said, repeating the same words he spoke that day in Lance's cell.

The memory Lance smiled in what Keithek had come to recognize as something gentle that Lance very rarely showed others. _"Then let's get the quiznak out of here."_

The memory image vanished when Keithek answered Coran's question, taking with it the sounds and smells and sensations Keithek remembered from the event.

"Good," Coran said, nodding to the red paladin with an encouraging smile. "Now it's your turn. Ask anyone here a question, whatever you want, and they'll answer honestly."

Keithek blinked and nodded absently as he tried to decide who to ask and what to ask who. His wide yellow and violet gaze settled on Pidge and he licked his lips nervously.

"Pidge," he said. "Why do you think… Why do you dislike Lance?"

The green paladin flushed and the memory image in the middle of the circle flickered to life again. This time it showed a small, handheld device Keithek remembered Pidge holding when he arrived back on Earth before Pidge locked him and Lance together in the pod.

 _"Sterile,"_ Keithek's memory voice said. _"When you told me you were sterile."_

Keithek flinched, his ears flattening against his head. He quickly looked at Lance whose face had become ashen.

 _"I'm not leaving you. I won't ever leave you. Especially not over something like sterility. You're my mate,"_ Keithek's memory voice said.

Keithek hid his face in his hands.

 _"This is ridiculous,"_ Lance's voice said. _"I don't even love you, I don't think."_

Keithek blinked. Wait, that wasn't how the conversation went.

"Because Lance is a jerk," Pidge said, crossing her arms in a huff. "I heard you both. I was listening to you two talk. I heard everything. You were apologizing and Lance threw your apology back in your face."

 _"I propositioned Nyma,"_ memory Lance's voice said.

Lance stiffened next to Keithek and the red paladin instinctively gripped the back of his mate's neck and squeezed.

"You're _still_ doing that," Pidge said angrily, glaring at Lance. "Even after everything he's done to you, you still treat him like he's perfect in every way. Why? For heaven's sake, he's abusing you! Don't you _see_ that?"

"Pidge," Shiro said. "That's no-"

"Shiro," Coran said suddenly. "As much as I know you want to talk, I'm going to have to ask you to be silent. This isn't your question so you can't answer."

"But-"

"No." The advisor gave the black paladin a faint smile. "Wait your turn."

Keithek hesitated, thinking over everything he'd experienced, everything he'd felt, everything he knew about his relationship with Lance. He looked at the Altean prince sitting hunched over like he was trying desperately to vanish into the couch next to him.

"Yes," he admitted finally. "Yes, I do see that. But I also know that at least part of this is my fault."

"No it's not," Pidge argued.

"But it is," Keithek insisted.

"Okay, fine, it is," Pidge said. "But even if that's true, he has no right to treat you like that. He's yanking you around like you're nothing but a tool to him, he flirts seriously with someone other than you, he tells you to your face that he doesn't love you, _attacks_ you-"

The memory image changed to the night before. Lance moved across the bridge, vanishing and reappearing, firing purple bolts of quintessence at the paladins. Even Keithek in the fragile state he'd been in at the time wasn't spared from the vicious attacks.

Keithek stared at the memory without fear. He watched through Pidge's eyes as Lance obeyed every command the A.I. Alfor gave him. He watched a blast of yellow energy blow Lance into the wall as Pidge fell from the possessed prince's grasp. Then he watched himself change, fury filling his gaze as he leapt forward to attack the paladins when they prepared to fire at Lance again.

"-and you keep defending him," Pidge finished. "He's hurting you and you don't see it. _Why_ won't you see that? And what was with that 'kill him and you kill me too' dramatics?"

Keithek didn't answer right away. Instead, he watched his memory self continue to attack his fellow paladins without regard for their safety or his own. He couldn't remember doing this, but watching it now he knew it wasn't a lie. This was…

"A blood rage?" he whispered. "I went into a blood rage?"

He watched as memory-Lance stopped Keithek's memory self from attacking Hunk, holding him back only to be electrocuted by Pidge's bayard. Keithek flinched at the sight.

"Is…is that what that was?" Lance asked softly.

'I…" Keithek swallowed. "Yes." It was. "I don't remember…"

"Keith!" Pidge said, her voice breaking through the memory image, snapping Keithek back to the present. "What about the 'kill him and you kill me too' thing?"

"Uh, that was it," Keithek said, nodding to the memory image. "I'm a Galra, or half Galran, but the principle is still the same. Lance is my mate. If he dies or rejects me, then I'll die one way or another."

Allura looked down at her hands and the mice sitting there quietly, watching the memory in front of them. The move didn't pass Pidge's notice.

"You knew?" Pidge demanded of Allura.

Allura nodded and the memory image changed, showing a Galra couple no one in the group recognized. But Allura clearly knew them if the sad expression on her face was anything to go by.

"The Galra mate for life," she said. "When they mate someone, they're essentially binding themselves to that person. If that person dies, then the person remaining will usually go insane or withdraw from everything. Either way, it's incredibly rare for a Galra to live long after they've lost their mate."

The memory image changed showing the same Galra pair as before but this time, the male was laid out in state while the surviving female stood nearby. The view dropped to the ground as the memory-Allura looked away. Then a cry filled the memory and the view lifted just in time to see the Galra female fall on top of her dead mate, joining him in death.

"She poisoned herself," Allura said. "That…was the first time I ever saw death in person. There is very little the Galra will hold above their mate. Even the most loyal subject of Zarkon would be hard pressed to obey Zarkon if it meant going against their mate."

She swallowed thickly and turned her gaze to Hunk. "How did you know Lauma was Zarkon's mate?" she asked. "Even I didn't know that. And I'm still not entirely sure I believe it."

"It's true," Lance said.

"Lance," Coran said, and the prince held his tongue.

Hunk shrugged. "Lance told me," he said, glancing at the prince just in time to see the memory image change yet again.

 _"She did something Father found…unacceptable,"_ memory-Lance said, gazing down at Keithek's sleeping face. _"So he rejected her and chose me instead."_

 _"What did she do?"_ Hunk's voice said in the memory.

Lance's memory didn't answer aloud. He just stared down at Keithek's sleeping face. It was strange for Keithek to see himself sleeping. It was even stranger for him to see Lance, even a memory of Lance, look at him with such a tender expression. It almost looked like Lance was about to cry.

 _"She fell in love with a Galra, didn't she?"_ Hunk's memory asked. _"And your father didn't like that."_

"From that and then finding out the former black paladin was Zarkon," Hunk shrugged. "It wasn't hard to put two and two together. It just made sense." He glanced at Lance again and sighed. "And then the whole A.I. Alfor forcing Lance to choose between you and Keith made sense too, If Alfor rejected Lauma for the position of Sentinel just because she was with a Galra, then it made sense that he wouldn't be happy about Lance being together with Keith."

"But I spoke to Father and he…" Allura stilled. "Unless he wasn't himself even then."

Hunk shrugged. "I don't think we'll ever know," he said reluctantly. "But, I mean, I know Lance cares about Keith and that, even knowing what his father thought of his decision, he still chose Keith over you. That's pretty impressive, honestly. So yeah, I it just makes sense."

"But, when did-"

"Look," Hunk said, holding up a hand to stop Allura's question. "Let me prove it to you. You said we can't lie like this, right Coran?" he asked the advisor.

"Yes, that's correct," Coran said.

"Okay." Hunk turned to Lance and said, "Lance, do you love Keith?"


	88. PART 3 - 88: Bustamite

**A/N:** This contains a detailed panic attack at the beginning which may be confusing to read. Don't worry, that's deliberate. Just read to the end. It'll make sense then. Hopefully. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Lance answers, panics, and Pidge is so done with Star Trek. **  
**

* * *

 **88: Bustamite -stimulates awareness in dreamwork, helps recall memories, a harmonious stabilizer**

"No."

Lance flinched before the word completely left his mouth. He immediately tried to recover his composure and clarify his answer even as Pidge's face flushed red with fury and Keith sank into the couch next to him, the very image of depression.

"No, it's not… I didn't mean," he stuttered, paling in fear and humiliation. "I don't mean…"

 _"Take it back, Keith. Please,"_ he heard his voice plead in the memory.

 _"I heard that, and still you chose me when that A.I. forced you to choose,"_ Keith's memory voice said. Lance couldn't bring himself to raise his eyes to the image playing out in full view of the room. _"Do you have any idea how much that means to me?"_

 _"I heard you tell me how sorry you were,"_ Keith's voice continued. The memory skipping around as Lance tried to make sense of his racing thoughts. _"But in all of that, not once did you ask for forgiveness."_

"I don't deserve it," he whispered aloud.

"Lance," Hunk breathed, sadness and pity oozing from his voice. It was like a dagger to his ears. Even Hunk with his huge heart was disappointed in him.

 _"You didn't see your face,"_ Lance's memory said. _"Your eyes… They weren't…"_

Lance in the here and now shuddered with his memory self, burying is face in his hands. The image of Keith pouncing on him in the pod replayed in his mind even as his words continued to ring in his ears. He could still see those eyes, gleaming in the darkness of the pod with anger and hate.

 _"They were so…Galra."_

He remembered the helpless feeling of being pushed down against the dashboard by clawed hands. Then the sharp sting of teeth clamping down on his neck in a painful bite holding him in place as he tried to brace himself. His feet couldn't find enough traction and his arms couldn't find a decent grip to push Keith away with.

 _"It reminded me of Sendak."_

 _"I like those eyes of yours."_

Lance froze. He couldn't think. He couldn't stop the memories from flooding into his mind and that voice… That despicable voice that haunted his nightmares and every time he looked at himself in the mirror, it rang in his ears. He hated his eyes. They were damaged. They had seen things they should never have seen. Sendak liked them so much he took one.

He could still remember the Galran commander digging his thumbnail into his right eye, screaming as the pain threatened to overwhelm him but unable to escape into the oblivion of unconsciousness. The feel of the sharp nail slicing clean through his eye scale as it ripped his eyeball out. The sensation of the removal and the torn eye scale shocked his system, making his nerves shriek and his skin burn, his breath stutter to a halt, and the scream. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't stop screaming.

 _"Did they scream as they died?"_ Sendak's voice echoed through his head, ringing like some hell-forged gong.

 _"Laaa…cgh."_

He whimpered.

 _"'Wida? 'Wida! What's wrong? What's-"_

Screams. So many screams.

 _"I think you stayed to watch them die,"_ Sendak's voice purred in Lance's ear just like it had that day.

 _"'Wida! 'Wida, please. It's me. It's me. Please, please stop. Sto- I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Don't- Stop! 'Wida please, please."_

Sobbing. Someone was crying. Was that him? He shouldn't be crying. Not now. It was his fault. Alwida was suffering, _dying_ in his arms and it was his fault. That drink… What had been in it? Why won't it stop? Why is this…

Wide blue-gray eyes stared up into his. Blood and saliva and organic slop that was once skin and tissue stained the red sleeves of his ceremonial robes. He shouldn't have come. He should have stayed in the temples. But Alwida… If he'd stayed, then Alwida would have…

She already was.

Her mouth was a bloody, raw mess that just worsened as his precious baby sister tried to claw whatever was causing her pain and _eating her face alive_ off. But it wasn't working. Her voice was nothing but a hoarse gurgle punctuated by gagging and rivulets of blood and what was once skin. Her eyes were bloodshot and one was melting onto her face where the poisonous liquid had splashed onto it.

He held her and screamed and pleaded. He couldn't leave her. He couldn't move. He couldn't think. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't stop screaming.

 _"Did you enjoy it?"_

No. No, no, no no nononono. Alwida! Don't- Stop. Please just make it stop! Stop! _Stop!_

 _"You knew exactly what you were doing, didn't you Altean."_

Sendak's voice accused him of everything he wondered about in his secret thoughts.

 _"I bet you don't even know the meaning of loyalty."_

You're wrong.

 _"You disgust me."_

I disgust myself.

 _"You're the Druid."_

I'm a Druid. I can fight this. I should be able to stop it. Why can't I stop it? Why couldn't I save her? Why couldn't I save them. Why couldn't I stop it? Why didn't I stay at the temple? Why did I say 'no?'

 _"I'm sure he's licking the palm of your hand like the despicable halfbreed he is."_

Don't talk about Keith like that. He's ten times better than you'll ever be.

 _"And yet he's still nothing to you despite his undoubtedly impressive attempts to rise to your expectations."_

That's not _true!_ He's not nothing. Don't talk about him like that. You have no _right!_

 _"We're much more alike than you are to admit, little prince."_

You're lying.

 _"Look at your reflection."_

I don't have to. I know what I'll see. The memory of his own reflection on Sendak's prison pod superimposed over Sendak's own face flooded him mind. This feeling, this cold, was this what he'd made Keith feel in the pod? Did he cause this?

 _"I like your eyes,"_

…Lance…

 _"I care about your opinion of me more than I thought I did."_

I said that. It was true. I do. I do care. I'm sorry.

 _"Lance, I'm so sorry."_

No. No, don't. Please.

 _"I know that wasn't you."_

I _do_ know. I just…

 _"You were **terrified**."_

Of course, I was. Your eyes were so cold. You wouldn't let me get away. It hurt. I don't understand. What did I do? I don't know what I did. It terrifies me.

What? What terrifies you?

I think I'm in love with you.

And that terrifies you?

Yes!

Why?

I'm broken. I've lost so much. I don't… I can't lose you too. You're mine.

…what?...

You're _mine,_ Keith. Mine.

Yours?

Yes.

You're…claiming me?

Yes!

Then come back to me.

Come…back?

Yes.

From where?

From your mind. This isn't real.

…what? What do you mean?

 _"I like your eyes."_

Don't listen to it! It's not real, Lance. It's not real. It's not really there. Sendak's gone. He's dead.

That's what they said last time. He came back.

Not anymore, Lance. Not anymore. Not ever. Shiro spaced him. He won't be back. He's dead. What you're hearing is nothing but a memory. A bad dream. You have to come out of it.

How? How do I-

Follow my voice.

But it's everywhere!

Last night, I told you your voice is like the call of wake angels. Have you ever heard them before, Lance?

…Keith?

Yes. Good, you recognize me. Now, wake angels. Have you ever heard them before?

N-no. I've seen drawings of them in books in the Collegium but never h-heard them before.

They sound like this.

Softly at first, like a whisper. Sad, lonely, beautiful. Like a song without a clear tune. Breathy like a woodwind but reverberating in his mind like the string of a phorminx. It was harmonic, melancholic, lyrical, everything Lance never knew he needed to hear.

He blinked and his gaze was filled with the familiar darkness of space. But it wasn't a void. Creatures the likes of which Lance had only ever seen drawn in books danced across the bow of the battlecruiser. Diving, swirling, climbing, spinning, dancing through the vacuum of space were spectral creatures that were almost completely transparent. Their bodies were wide and flat with long, trailing tails. They looked a lot like the giant manta rays on Earth.

Earth?

The song ebbed and flowed to an unheard beat, drawing him in. It was lovely and ever so sad.

 _:Not sad. Yearning, perhaps. But not sad.:_

The creatures skin glimmered iridescent in the light of the battlecruiser and the nearby nebula. So many colors, it was almost too much to take in. They changed with each ripple of their bodies. And the calls, the song… It never stopped. It beckoned, pleaded, and urged Lance towards them. Closer. He wanted to get closer.

They were beautiful.

He was transfixed by them. He had never seen anything as beautiful as these creatures. These… These were-

 _:Wake angels.:_

They're beautiful.

 _:Not as beautiful as you.:_

He ducked his head flushed as a wave of embarrassment and disbelief flooded his senses. But he couldn't keep his eyes away for long before they inevitably returned to the wake angels. The magnificent creatures continued to move through space, skimming the dark, metallic hull of the Galra battlecruiser. The entire forward view screen was filled with the wake angels as they danced and left trails of ephemeral crystals on the hull and view screen. If those crystals could be collected, then they would fetch a high price in the trading market.

But their song was the soul of everything. It was quickly becoming something Lance didn't know if he could live without.

 _:You can listen to it whenever you want, Lance.:_

 _:Keith?:_ Lance asked, quickly slapping a hand over his mouth when he realized the words hadn't been spoken aloud.

But his hand didn't move from his side. He could have sworn-

 _:This is my memory,:_ Keith's voice said. _:I didn't move my hand that day. I could hardly move at all. I could barely even breathe. I had never seen something so beautiful or heard something so entrancing in my life.:_

Lance agreed. _:They are beautiful,:_ he thought, gazing up at the wake angels through Keith's eyes.

 _:But not as beautiful or as entrancing as you.:_

He wanted to look away, to melt into the floor in sheer embarrassment and shame. _:You're wrong,:_ he murmured.

 _:I'm not.:_

Lance sighed. _:I may be beautiful but my heart is anything but.:_

 _:I wish you could see yourself as I see you,:_ Keith's mental voice whispered softly, longingly.

Then he was. Standing there in front of Lance was…Lance. This was Lance's bedroom in the Castleship the night after they freed the Balmera. The green aurora borealis swirled across the night sky on the view screens behind Lance's memory form. The blue jacket Lance has worn that night was hanging on the memory's shoulders over an unbuttoned white shirt.

A scent Lance didn't recognize filled his nose. It was a spice and musk that…was his?

 _:It's one of my favorite smells,:_ Keith's voice said, bringing an intense blush to Lance's face. _:It always gets thicker when your emotions are more intense. It's also one of the reasons why I want take you here rather than my quarters.:_

Lance gasped. This was a memory. That explained why the Lance he was looking at was so…ethereal. There was no way this was real. But still, if Keith was right and this was Keith's memory, then that meant this was how the red paladin saw Lance.

 _:It is,:_ Keith said softly.

The prince shivered. _:Why do I look so…:_ he wracked his mind, looking for a word that fit his desire but was not-

 _:Beautiful?:_

Lance shrank in on himself.

 _:You are beautiful, Lance. But your eyes, both of them, then and now… They're the most entrancing thing about you.:_

Lance winced and took a deep breath and fought the urge to lose the tenuous hold on these lucid thoughts.

 _:I will overwrite everything that bastard has done to you,:_ Keith swore, _:until you can only think of me. Until I can tell you how beautiful your eyes are without losing you to him. Until you know without a doubt that you belong to me and I belong to you.:_

That would take a while.

 _:I can wait,:_ Keith said, a smile audible in his voice. _:I understand why you said what you did that night about the juniberry,:_ Keith said, _:I didn't understand then, but I do now.:_

 _:How?:_ Lance asked in a soft whisper. _:I never-:_

 _:Coran told me,:_ Keith replied. _:I figured it was the same for Allura before Coran told me, but I didn't know that was normal for your entire race.:_

Lance shrugged. _:It doesn't matter,:_ he said. _:The juniberry doesn't exist anymore. There's nothing we can do about it.:_

Keith's mental voice sighed. _:I didn't want to tell you until I had it in my hand as proof, but I think you need to hear this now when neither of us can lie.:_

 _:I don't lie,:_ Lance said in mild annoyance.

 _:Not outright, no,:_ Keith agreed. _:But you keep much to yourself.:_

Lance bowed his head as his face flamed from shame. _:I never meant to hurt you,:_ he whispered.

 _:I know,:_ the red paladin's voice said. _:Which is why **you** should know, the juniberry plant still exists. I've asked Rolo to retrieve it for you.:_

What?

 _:What?!:_

Lance froze. It felt like the floor had suddenly been ripped out from under him. That couldn't be…

 _:What do you mean it still exists? Keith, explain!:_

Lance could hardly believe his ears, er, mind. _:Allura?:_ he gasped.

 _:Oh, you can hear me too?:_ Allura asked.

The scene in front of Lance changed abruptly, the colors swirling like ink dropped in water. When the image settled, he recognized view from the capitol's Spire towering high above the tallest building.

 _:Woah! Where is this?:_

What in the quiznak?

 _:Hunk?!:_

 _:Oh, hi Lance,:_ Hunk said. _:Don't mind me. Just enjoying the view. Where is this?:_

 _:It is beautiful.:_

By the Lions, Shiro too?

 _:It's regular party.:_

Lance stiffened. Pidge.

 _:There had better be a good explanation for this,:_ he growled.

 _:As near as I can figure it, Allura is currently in charge of the meld.:_

Lance nearly choked when he heard Coran's voice. He had to lean forward and grip the railing running along the edge of the balcony encircling the windy top of the Spire. But when he looked down at his hands, he blinked. These were his hands.

 _:They're mine,:_ Allura said.

Lance closed his eyes and took a deep breath. What in the quiznak was going on here?

 _:But nevermind that now,:_ Allura said in an urgent tone. _:Keith! What were you saying about the juniberry still existing? What do you mean by that?:_

 _:What is going on?:_ Lance demanded frantically.

Keith rolled his shoulders and, shockingly, so did Allura's avatar standing on the Spire balcony which, in turn, meant Lance shrugged too. This was insane.

 _:I mean, I asked Rolo to find a juniberry for me,:_ Keith said simply. _:He said they still existed and I asked him to find one for me.:_

 _:That's what you traded for,:_ Lance murmured.

 _:Yeah,:_ Keith admitted reluctantly. _:It… I wanted to keep it a secret until I had it so you would believe me, but I guess this works.:_

Allura shook her head and, by extension, so did Lance and probably everyone else too. This was confusing. It was getting seriously difficult to discern who was who, whose emotions were whose, and who was speaking or moving when.

 _:You're telling me,:_ Pidge grumbled. _:Don't get me wrong. This is cool and all, but geez. Talk about information overload.:_

 _:I think the more important question right now is, how do we get out of it?:_ Shiro said, his calm voice soothing the group's frayed nerves. _:Coran, any ideas?:_

 _:Well, yes,:_ the advisor said. _:But I think it would be best if you figured it out on your own.:_

 _:What?:_ Hunk cried.

 _:You can't be serious,:_ Lance moaned.

 _:This is a bit personal, Coran,:_ Keith said.

 _:Yeah,:_ Pidge said. _:I mean, I'm still not sure how I feel about all this. Shouldn't there be a privacy button or something?:_

 _:Ah, no,:_ Coran said. _:This is a mind meld; a very good one actually. I'm incredibly impressed. I never thought you all would succeed in merging your minds this deeply on the first try. Granted, it took Lance having a panic attack to kickstart the process, but it still worked.:_

 _:So, getting out?:_ Hunk pressed. _:Yeah? Please?:_

Coran sighed loudly and everyone could feel his annoyance/ _:No, Hunk,:_ he said. _:I won't help you out of this one. I'm here to make sure no one hurts themselves, but otherwise I'll just answer questions and help if I'm needed. Consider this a team building exercise.:_

 _:I thought we were playing some mental version of 20 questions,:_ Pidge groaned. _:I don't want to be in Lance's mind. Or **anyone's** mind for that matter.:_

 _:This isn't any one person's mind, Pidge,:_ Coran said. _:This is everyone's mind at once. Whoever's personality is dominant at the moment, which is currently Allura, will have control over the visuals. But otherwise the sensations, thoughts, feelings, everything will be felt and experienced at all.:_

 _:Coran,:_ Shiro said cautiously, _:this is all well and good. But somethings are better left private.:_

 _:Then learn to control your thoughts, Shiro,:_ the advisor said. _:That's just as important as learning to share your thoughts.:_

 _:Can we see those wake angels again?:_ Hunk asked suddenly. _:Please?:_

Lance groaned. _:How much did you all hear?:_

 _:Everything,:_ Pidge answered promptly. _:It's one of the reasons why I want out of this. If you and Keith start mind fucking, I do **not** want to have any part in it. I'm still mad at you.:_

Lance wilted. _:Still?:_ he asked in a small voice.

 _:Uh, yeah,:_ Pidge said. _:You just said you don't love Keith. Why **wouldn't** I be mad?:_

Keith sighed and the view returned to the bridge of the Galra battlecruiser with the wake angels flying across the view screen. _:That's not what I heard,:_ he said. _:Or felt, for that matter.:_

A warmth like a fire kindled in Lance's chest, melting the chilly core at the root of his being.

 _:Hunk, why don't you try asking your question again,:_ Coran suggested.

 _:Uh, last time I asked that, Lance lost it,:_ Hunk said. _:I don't make a habit of trying to give people panic attacks, Coran.:_

Lance definitely wanted to slink into a dark room and hide away from everyone, Keith especially. The prince could barely understand what he was feeling let alone what in the Lions' name was going on around him. He'd tumbled headlong into a panic attack, pulling the others with him.

Keith had been the one to catch him before he completely lost himself. Keith's comforting presence and soothing words had helping Lance from the crumbling edge of sanity and back to safety. Keith had offered up his memory of the wake angels and their beautiful song that Lance would remember for a long time to come. Keith didn't have to do that. He did it because he wanted to. Keith did it because he loved Lance.

 _:I think I love you.:_

The warmth returned tenfold, nearly knocking Lance off his feet.

 _:I know,:_ Keith said. _:I love you too.:_

 _:Oh my god,:_ Pidge whined. _:Save me from the mushy and Vulcan mind meld madness, please! Somebody!:_


	89. PART 3 - 89: Pyrite

**A/N:** I'm going to try updating my fic _Shadow Relation_ s as well as this series at the same time. This means I may have to start alternating update days. Just a friendly fyi. I haven't decided his firmly yet, but it's an idea. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Keithek "explains" mating, Lance is a jellyfish, and Coran is an efficient wake-up alarm. **  
**

* * *

 **89: Pyrite - increases memory, concentration, & spiritual and psychic abilities for students  
**

 _:Well, on the bright side, it'll be easier to answer questions now,:_ Hunk said with a shrug, causing the Allura avatar to shrug which inevitably resulted in everyone shrugging. _:Ah, sorry about that, guys. My bad.:_

 _:Okay, so we'll have to keep physical movement to a minimum when we talk,:_ Shiro said calmly. There was an edge to his voice, but it didn't sound like fear or anger so much as discomfort.

 _:Yeah, that won't be easy,:_ Hunk grumbled. _:I'm an expressive guy.:_

 _:Humans are expressive, Hunk,:_ Pidge spoke up. _:I heard there was this study once where scientists kept people from using their hands while speaking by tying their hands down. Almost everyone struggled to form sentences or talk freely. Many even forgot what they were saying and started stuttering.:_

The view of the wake angels vanished in a swirl of color and sensation, replaced by a decently sized room. There were two windows on one wall covered by blinds, rows of shelves lining the adjacent, featureless wall, and a door to another room and more shelves on the third wall. The fourth wall looked slight less sturdy and was made of several horizontal panels that hinged together forming what looking like a wall-sized foldable door. There were even windows on the panel that was second to the top.

 _:A garage?:_ Hunk asked.

They all looked around at the room curiously.

 _:What's a garage?:_ Keith asked. _:Is it like a small hanger bay?:_

 _:Something like that,:_ Shiro answered. He must have smiled because they all smiled and a feeling of fondness flooded their senses. _:It's where lots of people park their cars, hovercycles, and other vehicles.:_

 _:Not in **my** lab, they aren't,:_ Pidge said.

They moved over to one of the many tables set up in the garage and flicked on a light. Everything seemed a bit larger than normal. Was everything oversized or…

 _:Pidge, is this your memory?:_ Hunk asked.

The green paladin grumbled. _:Yes. And don't say anything about my height.:_

 _:You're short.:_

 _:Goddamnit Lance!:_

 _:I speak the truth,:_ the Altean prince said without shame.

 _:Stop smirking,:_ Pidge snarled. _:I know you're smirking because I am too.:_

 _:Guys, focus,:_ Shiro groaned.

 _:Focus,:_ Keithek murmured. _:Hey, wait. I have an idea.:_

 _:What is it, Keith?:_

 _:So we can't get out of this,:_ Keithek began, _:but maybe we can use this. Pidge, you asked why I would die if Lance died.:_ Everyone's mood suddenly plummeted at the reminder, but Keithek wouldn't stop. _:I tried explaining it but maybe showing you would work better,:_ he said.

Again, the atmosphere swirled this time settling on a hanger of a Galra battlecruiser. Blaster fire filled the space as the Galran sentries advanced on their hiding spot. The looked up and felt their heart drop. Hope was just out of reach. Looming above them, just behind a control pedestal, was the Red Lion. Except the Red Lion was enclosed in a red tinged particle barrier. Lance couldn't lower the shield. They couldn't get out.

There was only one thing left to try.

 _"Do you trust me?"_ they asked, turning and holding out their hand to the Lance conjured up by Keithek's memory.

For a moment, they thought they'd gone too far by asking that. But then the memory Lance said, _"Yes"_ and took their hand.

They hit a button on the pedestal and the hanger door behind them opened. Instantly, the entire hanger depressurized. They held on to the pedestal as long as they could. When the last sentry flew past them into the tangled slipstream outside, they tried to hit the button again to close to door.

They'd miscalculated. By holding onto Lance with one hand, preventing his companion from flying out into the slipstream with the sentries, and their other hand occupied by clinging to the pedestal. If either of their hands let go, they would lose something. Jurt it all, they hadn't thought this through. They couldn't breathe.

Then something smashed into their hand and the choice was taken from them. They blinked and suddenly the hanger was ahead of them and the tangle white light and energy that was the slipstream surrounded them. The silence was so loud their eyes were ringing. The vacuum made the saliva in their mouth and the moisture coating their eyes begin to boil. They couldn't breathe.

They were going to die.

They'd been so close to freedom.

The memory Lance swung into their view, mouth open in a silent scream, and his free hand covering his eyes as the pain of the moisture boiling hit him too. It was for naught. They were ticks away from smashing into the slipstream and being torn apart. No one ever survived that experience to tell about it, but they knew it would by anything but painless.

At least they wouldn't die alone. They tugged Lance towards them, the lack of friction making the maneuver easy. When the prince was within arms' reach, they pulled him close and clung to him. They vaguely felt arms wrap around them too. They were scared. They didn't want to die.

Father.

An image of a Galra male with a rugged face, sideburns, white streaked ears, and a well-trimmed beard flashed almost too quickly before their eyes.

Mother.

Tan skin, platinum blond hair, and blue eyes flew across their vision like an afterimage.

They would never see them again.

They were going to die here.

At least they wouldn't die alone.

Forgive them.

They opened their mouth, feeling the saliva inside begin to boil the instant it was exposed to the vacuum, and bit down hard on the slender, tan neck in front of him.

Emotions rushed through them, seeking, finding, binding, and securing. Some of their quintessence brushed that of memory Lance, locking onto it and attaching the tiniest sliver of their own quintessence to Lance's effectively binding their fates as one. They would always sense Lance's presence. They would always know if Lance was in pain. They would know if he died. The agony of the loss would literally kill them. If they somehow managed to survive the initial shock, they would lose all sense of self and actively seek out their own death. Even if it meant taking others with them.

They would never be able to see Lance the same ever again. This could never be done again. There were no second chances. There was nothing after this. This couldn't be taken back. It was permanent.

Did it matter?

They were both going to die anyway.

A flash of red, then nothing.

* * *

 _:That…wow.:_

Hunk was lost for words. The sheer magnitude of emotions that had swept over him in that brief memory was intense and left him shaking when it receded. So that was what Keith meant. Talk about mates for life.

 _:We do mate for life,:_ Keith said. _:Nothing comes before a mate.:_

 _:I'm not sure how I feel about feeling attracted to Lance,:_ Pidge said. _:Even if it's just a memory and not even my **own** memory, it's freaking weird.:_

 _:Still,:_ Shiro murmured. _:I knew you were mated, but I had no idea it was something that intense and personal.:_

 _:Yeah. Allura's reaction to it makes so much more sense now,:_ Hunk said, remembering the princess practically screaming at the black paladin.

 _:I did think we were going to die,:_ Keith said, and guilt washed over the group. _:I had no way of knowing the Red Lion would choose me as her paladin and save us.:_

 _:You're awfully quiet over there, Lance,:_ Pidge said. _:Not going to contribute?:_

Had they been in the real world, Hunk probably would have knocked the back of the green paladin's head.

 _:Hey!:_ Pidge exclaimed. _:I heard that.:_

Rolled his eyes and instantly knew everyone else had as well. _:I get the feeling even Lance wasn't aware of how deep this whole mating thing went and he's on the receiving end of it,:_ Hunk said. _:Give him a chance to take it all in.:_

 _:It's fine, Hunk,:_ Lance said suddenly. _:I'm not… I'm not mad about it so much anymore. I'm past that, I think.:_

He was. There was no anger or fury that Hunk could feel from the sea of emotions ebbing and flowing around him and in him. If Hunk didn't know better, he would have guessed Lance felt… Was that adoration? Awe? Affection? Lust?

 _:Yes.:_

 _:No, no, Pidge, no,:_ Hunk said quickly, sending as many negative vibes at the green paladin as he could. _:No way are you making my ears bleed here. Not happening.:_

 _:Hunk, if you can't feel the very blatant embarrassment and lust coming from Lance right now, then you're fucking blind,:_ Pidge said.

 _:Don't use that word in this context,:_ Hunk pleaded. _:I'm begging you.:_

 _:Why?:_ Pidge teased relentlessly. _:Fit too well?:_

 _:You're horrible,:_ Keith grumbled, embarrassment and lust coming off him in waves that were just as strong if not stronger than Lance's.

No. No wait. Not waves. Flames. Keith's emotions were like flames. Keith was a fire.

 _:Um,:_ Hunk said, eyeing the fire hovering directly in front of him. How did he not noticed that was there until now? _:Does anyone else see that fire over there?:_

 _:Y-yeah, actually,:_ Shiro said. _:Keith? Is that you?:_

 _:I think so?:_ the red paladin said slowly, obviously confused. _:I'm not on fire though.:_

 _:No,:_ Coran said suddenly. _:But you are the red paladin.:_

 _:And the red paladin draws his power from the Red Lion,:_ Allura said, her eyes widening causing everyone else to do the same.

 _:Okay, so what does that have to do with anything?:_ Pidge asked, confused but intrigued.

 _:The Red Lion is infused with the quintessence extracted from the desert and volcanoes of Altea,:_ Allura explained. _:It is the guardian Lion of fire. It's one of the reasons why Keith's body temperature is higher than ours.:_

 _:Honestly, I just thought that was a Galra thing,:_ Pidge said.

 _:Yeah, me too,:_ Hunk agreed.

 _:But wait, if Keith is fire then does that make me earth?:_ Pidge asked. _:You know, because I'm green.:_

 _:No. The Green Lion's quintessence was extracted from the forests of Altea,:_ the princess answered. _:The Yellow Lion's quintessence was extracted from the earth and stone.:_

 _:Really?:_ Pidge asked. _:Huh. I mean, it makes sense. I guess I just always associated the color yellow or white with the element of air.:_

 _:No, that would be the Black Lion,:_ Allura said.

 _:Oh, yeah, the big red wings,:_ Hunk said, nodding. _:Should've thought of that.:_

 _:Don't worry, Hunk,:_ Shiro said. _:It took the second time forming Voltron to think my… element, I guess, was air or wind.:_

 _:In that case, the Blue Lion is definitely water, if we're following this elements theme,:_ Pidge said.

 _:She is,:_ Lance said. He must have smiled because Hunk could feel a fond smile stretching across his face at the moment. _:Her quintessence was extracted from the mountain glaciers and the deepest oceans. That's why my body temperature is colder than usual.:_

 _:Yeah, about that. Our body temperatures aren't going to change, right?:_ Hunk asked warily. _:I mean, just a few degrees hotter than our current temperature and that means we're sick. A couple degrees lower and we are not only sick, but probably dying too.:_

 _:So delicate,:_ Lance teased.

 _:Pot meet kettle,:_ Pidge said.

And a pot and kettle poofed into existence in front of their eyes. It literally poofed. Hunk heard the poof.

 _:I don't understand,:_ Keith said, staring at the kitchen equipment in bewilderment. _:What does a pot and a kettle have to do with anything?:_

All three Humans groaned leaving Keith and the three Alteans still confused.

 _:It's not important, Keith,:_ Shiro said. _:Pidge was just giving Lance a hard time.:_

Hunk nodded, and so did everyone else. Then he felt the black paladin's interest in him heighten. Suddenly self-conscious, the yellow paladin shifted causing everyone else to do the same. The scenery abruptly morphed into the rugged landscape Hunk knew by heart and missed with everything he had, thoroughly distracting him from Shiro's attention.

 _:Kilauea,:_ he said, turning in place to take in the full view of the volcano. Some of the area closer to the vent were dark and without vegetation, but the further from the rim of the volcano, the more greenery there was.

 _:You're a boulder,:_ Shiro said, startling Hunk.

 _:I'm a what now?:_ he asked.

 _:Sorry, it's just… I see you as a boulder,:_ Shiro said. _:Looking at you now, I see a large, sturdy rock like the ones at Stonehenge, but with moss on it.:_

 _:Oh.:_ Hunk considered the observation as well as the positive emotions he felt from the black paladin. _:I take that as a compliment.:_

 _:Say I'm a tree and I might have to hurt you,:_ Pidge grumbled, crossing her arms in a huff. Naturally, her movement caused everyone else to copy her, only increasing the intensity of her sulk.

 _:Don't worry, Pidge,:_ Keith said. _:You're not a tree.:_

 _:Thanks Keith.:_

 _:Nope,:_ Lance agreed. Hunk felt the blue paladin's mood shift to something sly and cheeky and winced in preparation for the oncoming storm _. :You're a short tree,:_ Lance said cheerfully.

 _:Take that back, you stupid seahorse!:_ Pidge shouted.

 _:What's a seahorse?:_ Allura asked. _:Is it an animal of some kind?:_

 _:What's the word for a short tree?:_ Lance drawled lazily, completely ignoring Pidge's growing anger. _:Ah, a shrub! Pidge is a shrub.:_

 _:Listen here, you little shit,:_ Pidge growled.

 _:Guys!:_ Shiro shouted over everyone in exasperation. _:Stop teasing each other. Lance, stop taunting Pidge. Pidge, please try not to curse.:_

 _:Fine,:_ Pidge said with a huff. _:But Lance is a jellyfish.:_

 _:Pidge,:_ Shiro groaned and everyone facepalmed with him.

 _:Was that an insult?:_ Lance wondered.

 _:I don't…think so?:_ Keith said.

 _:It's true, though,:_ Pidge said, throwing her hands up in the air with everyone else. _:When we form Voltron, I always see him as a tsunami or a jellyfish. Tsunamis are too awesome for Lance to be associated with them-:_

 _:Hey!:_

 _:-so jellyfish it is,:_ she finished with a proud nod.

 _:What the quiznak is a jellyfish?:_ Keith asked, shaking his head.

 _:I would like to know the answer to that too, actually,:_ Coran said.

 _:If I show you, will you get us out of this Vulcan mind meld thing?:_ Pidge asked.

Coran harrumphed. _:Nope, sorry. I don't want to know that badly.:_

Everyone groaned in unison.

 _:This is ridiculous,:_ Lance mumbled.

 _:What if we showed you what jellyfish are then formed Voltron?:_ Hunk said. _:Would you help us out then?:_

When the advisor hesitated, the rush of hope and anticipation smashed into Hunk from all sides. Everyone wanted out.

 _:That might be a good idea, Coran,:_ Allura said, startling Hunk. _:As much as I agree, this exercise is useful, we've had a lot going on in the past couple days and sleep is vital to the paladins' health.:_

 _:Yours too,:_ Lance said.

 _:Oh, very well,:_ Coran said after another moment or two of consideration. _:Show me these jellyfish then form Voltron and I'll help you all out.:_

 _:I've got this one, guys,:_ Shiro said.

Hunk sat back and watched as the setting melted into a long, transparent tube that wound its way through a huge fish tank. This must be an aquarium. Hunk looked up and saw the water above and around him. Far above, a light source sparkled through the deep blue water bouncing off the colorful scales of fish swimming in schools and the occasional shark. Then the tank changed and instead of fish and sharks, jellyfish floated around him. Only the transparent surface stood between him and the hundreds of orange to yellow colored jellyfish.

 _:Wow,:_ Keith murmured. _:They're beautiful.:_

 _:And deadly,:_ Hunk said. _:Those ruffles and strings dangling from them aren't just for looks. That's how they capture prey. The fish get caught in the tentacles which sting them and paralyze them. Then they eat the fish.:_

 _:That thing?:_ Lance gasped, pointing at the jellyfish. Hunk found himself making the same motion, but it strangely didn't bother him as much anymore.

 _:Yep.:_

 _:This is from my last trip with my parents before they went on their last mission,:_ Shiro said, a soft smiling tugging on all of their lips even as sadness tingled their sense.

 _On that note,:_ Pidge said, _:let's go form Voltron. Coran, time to let us out.:_

 _:Truly, these creatures are a sight to see,:_ the advisor said, gazing up at the serene, seemingly harmless, bulbous sea creature floating around them still.

 _:Coran!:_

 _:Goodness. Don't shout so loudly, Pidge,:_ Coran said. _:I can hear you just fine.:_

 _:Voltron? You going to get us out of this mind meld thing so we can go form Voltron?:_ the green paladin asked, ignoring the advisor's words.

Coran huffed. _:Of course not. You'll form Voltron in here and **then** I'll let you out.:_

 _:What?: Lance_ cried.

 _:How are we supposed to do that?:_ Keith Shiro asked, trying to be reasonable.

 _:You can't just keep us in here,:_ Keith said upset.

 _:How do we form Voltron like this?:_ Hunk exclaimed. _:We don't have our Lions.:_

 _:Yeah!:_ Pidge chimed in. _:That's not fair._ _:  
_

 _:Ah, paladins,:_ he moaned. _:Alright, you lot. Visualize your Lion. Make it appear in front of you.:_

Hunk furrowed his brow and focused on the Yellow Lion. Her steadfast strength, her friendly personality, and her constant belief in him. He didn't bother fighting back a smile when a holographic image of her materialized in front of him.

 _:Now,:_ Coran said, _:urge your Lion towards the others and form Voltron just like you would if you were flying them.:_

Hunk willed the image of his Yellow Lion to move forward. He had no idea where the other Lions were, but he believed the Yellow Lion would find them. Sure enough, not a second later, the Black Lion appeared followed by the Blue, the Green, and the Red Lions all moving towards each other. Hunk wasn't sure what would happen when the Lions met in the middle, but he trusted they knew what to do. They had to form Voltron.

They would form Voltron.

A gust of wind buffeted him, carrying with it a frost that nipped his nose, heat that warmed his hands, and the smell of leaves and wood. He stood strong feeling his Yellow Lion roar in his mind. He blinked and there, hovering where the Lions had been, was Voltron.

This time, everyone smiled because they all wanted to.

 _:Well done, paladins,:_ Coran said, pride evident in his voice. _:Now, here's how you get out. Are you listening closely?:_

A chorus of "yes sirs" and "yes Corans," echoed in their minds.

 _:Good.:_ Coran cleared his throat. _:WAKE UP YOU DUNDERHEADS!:_

"Holy fucking shit!"


	90. PART 3 - 90: Sapphire

**A/N:** Good news and bad news. Bad news: this is the last chapter of Part 3 ( _Crystal_ if you read on AO3). Good news: Part 4 ( _Mirror_ if you read on AO3) begins next! Part 4 is going to cover the story arc(s) from the last two episodes of season 1 of V:LD. Hope you enjoy~ _ **  
**_

 **Chapter summary:** In which shrooms and Vulcans are trippy, Team Voltron gets the juniberry talk, and Allura finds out about Lance's side of the deal with Rolo and Nyma. **  
**

* * *

 **90: Sapphire - goal motivator, strengthens loyalty, promotes good judgement, allows good decisions  
**

Pidge ripped off her helmet and threw it at Coran who barely had time to dodge before the device slammed into the couch cushion behind him.

"Never," Pidge swore. "I am _never_ doing that again. Not unless I'm on shrooms. Then I might actually appreciate it."

"Shrooms?" Keith muttered.

"Pidge no," Shiro scolded, rolling his eyes. "No shrooms."

"Don't worry, Shiro," the green paladin said. "I won't be trying any. I just have to put one of those things back on and I'll get the same basic experience."

"I have to agree with Pidge on that," Hunk said, carefully setting his helmet down on the cushion next to him like it was going to bite him. "That was trippy as crap."

Shiro groaned and removed his own helmet, rubbing his forehead when he did so.

"It was a little odd," Keith admitted.

"Odd?" Pidge repeated incredulously. "That's what you call that whole," she waved her hands around as she searched for the right word, _"thing_ that just happened? Dude, that was an acid trip from hell."

"It wasn't that bad," Shiro said, standing. "We learned a lot."

"Yes, we did," Allura said, taking off her helmet and placing it in her lap. She brushed her fingertips through the colorful of the mice resting in her lap. They had been napping during their mind meld adventure but had been startled awake by Pidge's cursing. "Perhaps doing this every so often would help aid us with our communication problems."

"That could totally work," Hunk said. "Instead of sitting there trying to figure out how to explain something we take for granted and never had to explain before or just something that's difficult to explain, we could just put those things on, do our Vulcun mind meld thing, and _show_ you what we're trying to say." He looked at Shrio and shrugged. "You've got to admit, it's useful."

"I agree," the black paladin admitted. "But I say we at least _try_ to explain things before resorting to this," he patted the helmet. "I get the feeling we may learn more things about each other than just the answer to a question."

"That's very true," Coran said, holding his helmet in his hands. "Any thought or emotion you have, however fleeting, will be out there for whoever else in the mind meld to see and feel. But, I have to ask, what is a Vulcun? You seem to use this word often. What is it? Is it a thing?"

Pidge snorted. "It's a species from an old Earth sci-fi TV show called 'Star Trek,'" she said.

"Yeah, they're super interesting," Hunk said, grinning broadly. "They had pointed ears like you do but they highly logical and rational, almost to the point of apathy." He rolled his shoulders and reconsidered his words. "Well, not apathy, I guess. More like-"

"Vulcans were somewhat telepathic and could share memories, experiences, emotions, all of that by inducing a mind meld," Shiro said. "It could be forced but that was rarely the case. Mind melds work both ways."

"Yes," Lance said nodding. "Once a door is open, anything can enter from either direction."

Keith glanced at him and Pidge got the distinct impression she was missing something important. Oh well, it wasn't too important. She still wasn't comfortable with the state of Lance and Keith's relationship, but she now knew Lance sort of returned Keith's feelings. Hopefully that meant those two could stop being idiots and start actually growing their relationship into something more stable and healthy. Speaking of relationships, she looked at Shiro and smirked.

"So, Shiro," she said, propping her hands on her hips and giving the black paladin a smug grin, "did you really like the view in when Allura was in control?"

Shiro smiled freely, a faint blush on his cheeks as he stared down at his hands. "Yes," he said softly. "It was beautiful. I'd love to see it again sometime." He glanced shyly up at the princess who also had a faint tinge of pink in her cheeks.

"You could, you know," Lance said. "All you have to do is ask. Of course," he added with a sly wink, "you'll have to specify what view you found so beautiful: the land or my sister."

"Lance?!" Allura cried.

Shiro's face burned so red, it reminded Pidge of the Red Lion's paint. She snickered.

"Don't bother," Pidge said, looking at the princess pointedly. "I felt your emotions too, you know. You _really_ enjoyed that aquarium. It was almost like you _enjoyed_ being in Shiro's body."

"Oh my God," the black paladin moaned. "Pidge, please stop."

"Or, I mean since Allura's the girl and Shiro's the guy," Pidge said, tapping her chin playfully with her finger, no remorse in her sparkling eyes, "technically it would be Shiro enjoying being ins- OUCH! Hunk!" she shouted, whirling to the yellow paladin.

Hunk stared Pidge down until she slumped in a sulk. "Stop bullying Shiro," he said. "And for Pele's sake, stop trying to make my ears bleed. You're fifteen anyway. How the heck do you know so much about…you know?"

"You really can't say 'sex,' can you?" Lance asked, leaning forward so he could rest his forearms on his thighs and stare at Hunk in amused disbelief.

"I don't want to," Hunk said, holding up a hand to block the blue paladin's face. "Someone's got to be the clean one here."

"Yeah," Pidge said. Then she smirked. "Space Dad's too busy ogling the princess to be clean."

She grunted when Hunk bopped her on the head again. Honestly, it didn't hurt either time Hunk had smacked her; it was the fact he actually did it that shocked her. Hunk was just too innocent. It was endearing. He really was a great friend.

Lance snorted. "Space Dad." He snickered. "Didn't we decide Allura was Space Mom?"

Pidge grinned, straightening proudly. "Yes we did," she said. "And we all know what parents do when they're-" she ducked Hunk's next gentle blow, "alone in the bedroom."

"Pidge!" Shiro said, turning his wide, dark gray eyes to the green paladin in a desperate plea for mercy.

The affect of the look was so intense, it hit a soft spot in pidge's heart. She'd have to work on finding that soft spot and hardening it. But for now, she supposed she would offer mercy.

"Fine, fine," she grumbled with a careless shrug. "I had my fun. I do have one serious question though," she said, turning her gaze to Coran who honestly looked like he was going to bury his face in his hands. "What's so important about this juniberry plant? I mean, I got that it was important and that it had something to do with relationships, but what does it do exactly?"

The advisor sat up and studied the green paladin's expression, looking for any signs that she was trying to tease or poke fun. When he saw none, he relaxed and sat up to speak.

"The juniberry and the Altean race are symbiotic," he said. "One can't exist without the other. Or," he corrected quickly, "we can but not for long and our lives wouldn't be whole."

"How do you mean?" Hunk asked, grasping on the chance to learn something new.

"The juniberry plants feeds on Altean quintessence," Allura said. "It also uses it to aid in fertilization. It only grows where Alteans are. If the Alteans in the area were to move somewhere else, then the juniberries they left behind would eventually die out from starvation and lack of fertility."

"The same is true for our side of the symbiosis," Lance said, glancing at Keith as he spoke. "Without the juniberry, all Alteans are born and continue to be sterile and impotent. We can't feel or experience arousal no matter what the circumstances. Even if we did have sex," a small smile twitched his lips up at the corners when he saw Hunk wince, "nothing would come of it. Without the juniberry, our race would simply die out from lack of children."

"How does that work exactly?" Pidge asked, plopping down on the back on the couch so her feet rested on the bottom cushion.

"The flower contains a compound Alteans require for fertility," Coran said. "It does other things too like help prepare the body for pregnancy, helps keep up healthy, and affects our mental and emotional states as well. Alteans who went long periods without the juniberry were often more prone to depression, anxiety, decline in self-worth, as well as other problems."

Pidge's face began to slacken in understanding. She could see Hunk coming to the same conclusion from her peripheral vision.

"Like I said before," the advisor said, "we can live without the juniberry plant. It just won't be a full life. We simply aren't whole without it."

"So Keith finding this plant is a big thing," Hunk murmured.

"A lot bigger than I first thought," Shiro said, looking around the room at the Alteans with renewed awe.

Allura blushed when Shiro's gaze settled on her and looked down. "We're fine, Shiro," she said, mustering a small smile. "We've been fine until now and we'll continue to be fine."

"Especially now that Keith's found the juniberry," Lance said, turning to his mate with what Pidge could only call a sultry smile that screamed bedroom.

The green paladin rolled her eyes and pushed herself off the couch. "On that note," she said, getting to her feet, "I'm going to shower and clear my head of that whole shroom-y, acid trip thing and get some sleep. Allura," she said, stopping at the doorway and turning to glare at the princess, "I swear to god, if you try pulling another one of her your false alarm shit on us, I will personally make sure you wished you'd never met me."

* * *

Keithek watched the green paladin leave with a smile on his face. If Pidge needed or wanted any help making that promise become a reality, he would be more than ready to lend a hand. He was certain he wouldn't be able to take another false alarm even tonight, or for a good while actually.

Allura sighed. "I'm not that cruel, you know," she mumbled, and Pidge paused again, turning back to look at the princess. Allura lifted her hands so the mice could scamper up her arms to sit on her shoulders. "I promise I won't do any training tonight or tomorrow," Allura said. "Coran and I will be too busy running diagnostics on the Castle's systems to be absolutely sure the infections is completely gone."

"Thanks," Pidge said gratefully.

"I'll help," Lance offered. "But while we're doing that, I need us to go to Meserie. Nyma told me she and Rolo have what Keith asked for." He smiled at Keithek. "They wouldn't tell me what it was, but I know it's the juniberry."

"So the two crazies did something nice, for a change?" Pidge said, leaning against the wall by the door.

"They weren't that bad," Keithek said with a shrug.

"We can do that," Allura said nodding, ignoring her paladins' friendly banter. "You can take the Blue and Red Lions down to meet them."

"Can't do that," Lance said, shaking his head. "Nyma doesn't want their cover to be blown. They do work for the resistance and the last thing they need is for the Galra to catch them talking to the paladins of the Voltron Lions that just flew into plain view of a planet full of traders and information brokers at one of the universe's biggest trading outpost planets."

"Besides," Keithek said, "the juniberry is apparently being used as a drug right now."

"A drug?" Allura gasped.

"You mean like medicine drug," Shiro asked cautiously, "or a recreational drug like heroin or cocaine or," he nodded to where Pidge stood, "shrooms?"

Keithek shook his head. "I'm not familiar with those drugs," he said to the black paladin, "but the juniberry is used recreationally." He turned his gaze to Allura and sighed. "According to Rolo, its deadly. It can give users hallucinations and other side effects, but it almost always kills them."

"It would," Coran said grimly. "The juniberry is highly poisonous to anyone other than Alteans. It's one of the reasons why we never allowed any non-Altean to handle the flower. Every part of it was toxic."

"Wait, but it never affected you guys?" Hunk asked in surprise. "Not ever?"

"Well, our scholars thought that our two species evolved over the millennia side-by-side to the point we became reliant on each other for our very survival. During that time, Alteans ate the flower, learning to make it into teas, juices, and even salads and could even be smoked."

"Not on my life," Allura said firmly. "I've heard stories-"

"I've _seen_ things," Lance added.

"And I wouldn't want to try that," the princess finished.

Lance, however, titled his head thoughtfully. "I might be willing to try it," he said, earning him a shocked stared from his sister and advisor. He blinked at them and held out his arms incredulously. "What? Tayla said it wasn't too bad."

"Tayla _smoked_ the juniberry?" Allura gasped, holding a hand over her chest as if to protect herself from the very thought.

Lance rolled his eyes. "She was fine," he groaned. "She said it made her head a bit fluffy and made her skin super sensitive, but other than that she didn't feel any different."

The princess was unimpressed. "You will not be smoking anything in the Castle," she said sternly. "The last thing we need is for one of the paladins to get a whiff of it and have it affect them too."

The prince blinked, his mouth forming a small 'o.' "I didn't even think about that," he said. "huh. I guess I'll to wait until I'm planetside."

"Lance!"

"Anyway," Hunk said, trying to herd the conversation back on track, "the juniberry is used as a drug?"

Keithek sat up and picked up where he left off. "Right, um, it's used as a drug and this drug is considered one of the lowest kind. Rolo said he refuses to trade it because just having someone _think_ it in his possession, even for a legitimate trade, could ruin his reputation."

"But he got it for you anyway," Hunk said. "That took some guts."

"What did you have to do to convince him?" Pidge asked.

Keithek shook his head. "Nothing," he said. "I thought he wasn't going to do it. He was only prepared to get me information on where to find it when I spoke to him in person. He was aware that Alteans were immune to its affects though. That's apparently common knowledge."

"And that's why Nyma needs us to come to Meserie," Lance finished. "Keith has to be there because it's his trade and Rolo can only work with him because of that. But I need to be there because I'm Altean and can prove that we're not just trying to get a drug-"

"But something that's actually important to your survival," Hunk said, nodding. "Makes sense."

The princess nodded, humming. Then she straightened and eyed her brother suspiciously. "How do you know all of this anyway?" she asked. "Since when did you and Nyma talk? You haven't been near the comms since you got back to the Castle and the comms on the pods aren't anywhere strong enough to reach Meserie from here. And even if they were, there would be a delay between the time it was sent and the time it arrived."

The prince looked away guiltily and pursed his lips. "I…have my ways," he said.

"And these ways include what exactly?" Allura asked, narrowing her eyes.

The prince hesitated. "I made a deal with them," he said, "before they left."

"What kind of deal?" Allura demanded.

Lance met his sister's eyes but quickly looked away. Keithek flicked his ears towards his mate and listened closely to the prince's heartbeat. It was pattering much faster than normal and Keithek could smell the fear and discomfort on Lance. It had a sharp tang to it.

"What did you do?" Keithek asked.

Lance met Keithek's gaze and managed to hold it longer than he had the princess'. Finally, though, he sighed. "I asked them to spy for me," he said.

"What was the price?" Allura said sternly. "Lance, what was it?"

Keithek watched his mate struggle with himself for another tick or two before slumping in defeat. "The price was an equal sharing of information," he said. "But, I gave them a good faith gift."

"And that was?" the princess pressed.

Lance licked his lips nervously. "Nyma needed a way to communicate with me quickly, efficiently, and securely," he said. He cleared his throat. "So I gave her a crystal shard and put some of my quintessence in it and let her keep that while I kept a shard with her quintessence in it."

"You did _what?"_ Allura cried. "Lance, why would you do something like that?"

"It's perfectly safe," Lance said, defensively.

"Until someone other than Nyma gets a hold of it," Allura said. "They could use it to spy on you and you wouldn't even notice. Lance, this is serious."

"I'm aware of the seriousness, 'Llura," Lance said. "I'm aware now and I was aware then. But it was the best choice at the time. It was either that or something else which was definitely not an option."

"And that was?" Allura demanded.

"My blood," Lance answered.

"What kind of sick people would ask for someone's blood?" Pidge said in disgust. "What are they, vampires or something?"

"I don't know what a vampire is," Lance said, "but they were thinking they could use my blood to confirm that I was really was Altean and spread the word more quickly. It would have been used as proof of our continued existence."

"Which you said no to," Pidge said.

"Yes," Lance said, nodding. "I only gave them a tiny piece of my quintessence which I bound in a fluorite crystal and gave to Nyma."

"That's-"

"And I have some of Nyma's quintessence in a shard with me as well," Lance said loudly. "It was an equal trade. If they try anything, I have Nyma's quintessence too and I can hurt her much easier than she can me. I'm trained for this, she isn't."

Allura sighed and hung her head in dismay. "This wasn't supposed to happen," she murmured.

"It's not too bad," Lance said. "I've learned a lot from them. They promised not to share my identity or any of our identities with their contacts. The only reason they need Keith there on Meserie is so they can complete the trade. The original trade for the juniberry was with him. By the trader's code, only he can accept the item."

"And they need you to prove he's not getting a drug," Allura said with a heavy voice. "Yes, yes, I know. I heard. I _does_ make sense. I just…" She shook her head. "I just don't like it, is all."

Lance sighed and stood, walking over to sit by his sister. "I know," he said slowly. "Neither do I. But I'm working with what we have. And if doing this gets us the juniberry then I'm more than willing to do it."

"I bet," Pidge said with a smirk that had Hunk rolling his eyes.

"I'll go with you," Shiro said suddenly, startling the group. When everyone looked at him, he smiled. "You're my friend, Lance," he said. "I don't mind. Besides, if Rolo and Nyma have connections to the resistance than maybe we can start talking about a formal alliance."

"That would be a good idea, princess," Coran said. "We could use all the help we can get."

Allura looked at her advisor, then her brother, then Shiro, then Keithek, the Pidge and Hunk. These were her friends, her family. Keithek could see her mind finally coming to terms with that and accepting it. When she smiled, it was heavy and laden with emotion, but it was honest and hopeful.

"You're right, Shiro," she said. "We can use all the help we can get. We'll start for Meserie in the morning. In the meantime, I'll have the ship entire low power mode so we can sleep. If the Galra are detected, the alarm will wake us up. But otherwise, I suggest everyone get a good night's sleep. I get the feeling we'll be needing it."

"Oh yeah, we will," Hunk said, nodding enthusiastically. "I'm already on my way to my nice, warm, comfy bed."

"Right behind you, Hunk," Pidge chirped.

"Lance?" Keithek asked, standing and holding out a hand for his mate. "Would you join me?"

When Lance smiled, it brought a blossom of warmth to Keithek's chest. Lance leaned over and whispered something into his sister's ear that brought a hopeful look to Allura's eyes and a blush to her cheeks. Then he took Keithek's offered hand and stood. Together they climbed out of the couch circle in the floor and made their way to the lift. His ears twitched when he heard Pidge snicker nearby.

"Hey Shiro," she said, just as the lift doors slid open, "I'd follow their example, if I were you."

Keithek didn't have to look to see the blush that no doubt filled the black paladin's face. He already knew it was there. "What did you say to your sister?" he asked curiously.

Lance smiled and leaned against the red paladin. "Nothing," he said happily.


	91. PART 4 - 91: Mirror

**A/N:** And so Book 4 begins~ Just in time for Spring semester to start tomorrow. *cries* Oh well. At least we have a chance of snow this Friday night and Saturday. *crosses fingers* **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Lance is woken up early but eventually decides he does mind and Team Voltron arrive at Meserie. **  
**

* * *

 **PART 4: Mirror**

 **91: Mirror**

Why? Why was it that every time he felt like he was finally going to get a good night's sleep after a particularly stressful turn, something had to wake him up?

He groaned and did his best to ignore the subtle tickle of his quintessence calling to him. But instead of lessening, it increased, growing more and more insistent until it was practically demanding his attention. Breathing out a soft whimper, he pulled away from the warm comfort of his mate's embrace and flopped onto his other side so he lay facing his room.

He flailed out with his arm for his bedside table. He missed the first time but his fingers slapped the edge of the table on the second attempt. He blindly felt around for the small carnelian shard he typically kept in his vest pocket when he was up and about. He was not up and about right now nor did he plan to be up and about for another several tocks at least.

When he finally felt the smooth surface of the stone, he wrapped his fingers around it and pulled his arm back into the warmth of the blankets. Reluctantly, he yawned and pushed himself up so his back arched up and his arms rested on the bed. It wasn't the most polite position, but he didn't really care about politeness at the moment.

"I'm here," he said softly. "What is it?"

 _:Did I wake you?:_

Lance blinked tiredly up at Nyma's spectral form that appeared a span away from the edge of the bed. He ran a hand through his hair and nodded. "Yes, but it's okay. You wouldn't have done it if it wasn't important," he said. "What do you need?"

Nyma frowned and looked over someone or something nearby, probably Rolo, before returning her gaze to the prince's and speaking. _:We received a message from the leader of the resistance,:_ she said without preamble. _:They want us to spear head an alliance with Voltron.:_

Lance nodded. "I'll tell Allura," he said. "But I doubt she'll refuse."

 _:There's more,:_ Nyma said, her lips set in a grim line _. :We heard from a reliable source that the emperor has devoted most of his sources to look for the Sentinel.:_ Her lidless blue eyes focused on the prince _. :Zarkon wants him alive and unharmed.:_

Wearily, Lance breathed a deep sigh and rubbed his eyes. "I'm not surprised," he said.

 _:Care to explain?:_ she asked.

"Zarkon knows King Alfor bound the Lions of Voltron to the quintessence, or life force," he clarified, "of the Heir to keep it safe. In this case, the Heir is Allura."

 _:So that's why...:_ Nyma paused and licked her lips. _:That's why he thinks she's dead,:_ she said astutely _, :and why you don't want us to mention her. You're protecting her. Your mate told Rolo and me to keep her out of it.:_

"If you can, I'd be grateful," Lance said.

 _:We're doing our best,:_ Nyma said with a nod. _:Our leader wants to meet with you to form the alliance.:_

Lance sat up, suddenly more awake. "When and where?" he asked.

 _:So you'll do it?:_ she asked.

"I'll ask my sister just to be sure," he said, "but I see no reason why she would refuse. We've already been discussing forming an alliance with the resistance."

Nyma nodded _. :I inform our contact here of your agreement,:_ she said _. :When do you think you'll get to Meserie?:_

"Meserie?" Lance repeated with interest. "The trade post?" Nyma nodded and the prince thought for a tick. "If the planet's coordinates haven't changed much from what we have stored in the Castle's memory banks, then we could be there by later today."

 _:Good. Let me know when you arrive and I'll contact you when it's safe to land,:_ she said.

"Safe?"

 _:Lotor is here,:_ Nyma said, watching Lance carefully.

The prince let out a long, shaky breath. "I see," he said.

He hung his head as he considered this new information. If Lotor saw him, it could complicate things. It could make this whole too dangerous to pursue. He looked back at Keith sleeping soundly in the bed next to him and couldn't help but smile. So much had happen in so little time. Maybe it was time Team Voltron took this battle straight to the heart of the Galra. Politics were a nasty thing, after all.

"Your leader won't be on Meserie, correct?" he asked.

 _:No,:_ Nyma said. She frowned. _:Why?:_

"Just a thought," Lance said absently. He ran his fingers through Keith's dark hair, brushing his fingertips up one of the soft, fluffy ears. Keith would hate this idea of his. "And there aren't any Druids either?"

 _:No,:_ Nyma confirmed, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. _:What are you planning?:_

"I'm not sure yet," Lance said. He sighed and turned his gaze back to Nyma translucent form. "Let me know immediately if any of that changes," he said. "I don't want to take too big of a risk that doesn't involve just me or our team."

 _:Don't do anything stupid, Lance,:_ the trader warned him. _:I'm starting to like you.:_

Lance snickered. "So if you didn't like me, you wouldn't mind if I did something stupid, is that it?" he teased. Nyma shrugged nonchalantly which just made Lance's smile widen. "I can feel the love," he said wryly.

 _:I try,:_ she said with a lopsided smile. However, that smile quickly faded when she spoke again. _:Tell Keith we have a way to get what he traded for,:_ she said. _:It won't be easy but it's the best chance we've got.:_

"I know he traded for the juniberry plant," Lance said.

 _:He told you then?:_

The prince nodded. "Did he tell you why he wanted it?" he asked in curiosity.

 _:He wanted it because you asked for it,:_ she said _. :Well, you and your sister.:_

Lance blinked. "He didn't know its purpose?"

 _:No,:_ Nyma said. _:He didn't even known it's considered a drug by most people.:_ She lifted her thin eyebrows and tilted her head in acknowledgement _. :You have a good mate,:_ she said _. :I'd take care of him, if I were you.:_

"I will," Lance said, turning back to his still sleeping mate. "But you said it would be difficult to get the juniberry?"

 _:It will be,:_ she said seriously _. :Not impossible, but difficult. The person who deals the plant in practically all its forms is a female. No one knows what planet she's from or what race she calls her own. She has no loyalty to any power: political, social, or religious. She answers only to herself, her morals, and the Trader's Code.:_

"The Trader's Code?" Lance repeated.

Nyma nodded. _:It's the code of conduct and expectations each trader in the Universal Trader's Guild pledges to uphold,:_ she said. _:It's what requires us to keep our ends of a bargain, see a fair deal through to the end, and protect our customers. Our reputation is as valuable to traders and our customers as currency.:_

"I see," Lance murmured. "So they decided to go through with it." At the curious look on Nyma's face, he clarified. "When I was… Before I was put under, there were talks of founding a Trader's Guild but it hadn't been put into practice yet."

 _:Mm. Well, the juniberry trader's name is Merla,:_ she said. _:She's been a member of the Guild for longer than Rolo and I have been. She values her integrity and reputation as a trader, so any deal she makes will be kept. But she's also a total sneak. She'll fulfill her end of the deal, no problem. But she very rarely comes out anything but on top.:_

"I'll keep that in mind," Lance said seriously. "Other than that, how are you and Rolo doing?"

 _:We're doing fine so far,:_ the trader said with a shrug. She tossed one of the appendages dangling from the side of her head over her shoulder with casual ease and glanced at something beside her. _:Rolo's cooking,:_ she said, _:and he'd better not burn my kilish again or so help me I'll burn his stash chewing sticks.:_

She snorted then cackled at something Rolo must have said that Lance couldn't hear bringing a smile to the prince's face. The smile quickly became a yawn that was so huge it forced him to squeeze his eyes shut. He groaned and shook his head to clear away the sleep still clinging to his mind enough to continue talking.

"Alright," he said. "Is there anything you need from me?" When Nyma tilted her head in confusion the prince explained. "You've given me information. What do you need in return? A trade is an equal exchange."

Nyma nodded slowly and thought for a tick. _:I'll think about it and tell you when you get here, how about that?:_ she suggested.

"Nothing too serious now," Lance said with a teasing grin. "I don't have much."

 _:You're a prince,:_ she said, lifting an eyebrows playfully.

"A prince by name only," he said. "Besides, we never ruled anything. Just handled interplanetary politics."

Nyma hummed. _:I've thought of a price you can pay,:_ she announced abruptly, startling the prince.

"So soon?" he asked with a smile.

 _:Buy me a drink and answer some of my questions about Altean culture,:_ she said.

Lance sat up in surprise. It took a few tries for him to find his words again. "Why?" he asked finally.

 _:Because it's interesting,:_ she said. _:You were there when the Galra Empire came to power. There may be something you remember happening that only turned out to be significant after you were put in stasis.:_

Ah, that explained it. Information for information. Lance felt depression settle in his chest like a weight. He supposed the information on a long dead culture and people would be interesting. It was something no doubt any historian would be itching to learn about. To have a living, breathing Altean talk about his firsthand experiences would be a historian's wet dream.

 _:Besides,:_ Nyma added, _:I think you need it:_

That… Lance looked up at her, a small flicker of hope in his chest.

 _:Sometimes you need to get a little drunk and someone you don't know very well to talk about painful memories,:_ she said, her lidless blue gaze gentle.

It reminded Lance of the way Lauma used to look at him when he struggled with his desire to be a Master Pilot and the Druids' desire for him to be a Master Ascender. It hurt, but not in a bad way. He managed a smile.

"I can do that," he said.

 _:Of course, if you decide to follow through on that little proposition of yours from the other cycle, I wouldn't be opposed to it,:_ she added with a straight face, followed by a sly grin and sultry wink that brought the prince to laughter.

"I'll keep that in mind," he said. "Although you'll forgive me if someone else lays claim first."

Nyma shrugged. _:He's welcome to join us. Just because I can't literally have sex doesn't mean I don't enjoy the act. Watching is almost as fun as participating. There's a reason Rolo often uses me as a wingman when he goes hunting for a late night catch.:_

That comment brought a blush to the prince's face and laughter to his heart. "I'll ask," he said between gasping laughter.

 _:Mmhm, I'm sure you,:_ she said. _:Go slick up and get back in bed, boy. You're mate's awake.:_

"Slick…?" Lance murmured, his lips quirking up in a c confused smile.

Then the second half of what the trader said hit him and Lance spun around. Keith had woken sometime during Lance's conversation with Nyma and was watching him with his violet and gold eyes. Keith's eyes seemed to gleam in the darkness of the prince's bedroom. They almost looked hungry.

Slick up and go to bed. Oh. Yes. Now it made sense.

 _:Try to get some sleep, lover boy,:_ Nyma said in a sing-song tone before Lance felt the connection sever.

"Keith?" Lance whispered. "How long were you awake?"

The sleepy red paladin shrugged. "A while," he said. "Something tickled my ears."

Lance flushed and rolled his lips in an effort to hold back his smile. So Keith had felt that. Keith caught the flush and guilty expression on Lance's face and frowned.

"You did that?" he demanded.

Lance snorted. "You're cute when you sleep," he said.

Even in the darkness, the prince could see his mate's face darken with a blush. "I am not cute," he hissed.

"No?"

"No."

"Then what are you?" Lance asked. Without moving his eyes from Keith's face, he reached out to place the carnelian shard back on his bedside table by touch. "Purrr-fect?" he teased.

One of Keith's ears twitched in mild annoyance which just served to make Lance snort. He quickly slapped a hand over his nose and mouth when Keith's eyebrows furrowed and his ears began twitching more quickly.

"That was horrible," Keith said flatly.

"I thought I was magnificent," Lance said, his voice somewhat muffled by his hand. His eyes, however, sparkled with mischief from above his fingers.

Keith ignored Lance's comment in favor of weaving his fingers through Lance's hair and using his grip to push the prince's head into the pillow. Lance blinked when his cheek sank into the pillow's softness and watched the re paladin's face change to one of curiosity.

"You were saying something?" Keith asked.

This time, it was Lance's turn to be confused. "Mmph?"

His eyelids drifted closed as Keith's fingers began massaging his scalp. It felt so good. Just the motions were soothing but the heat radiating from Keith's hand made it that much better.

"Something about 'slick?'" Keith drawled.

Instantly, the soothing feeling vanished replaced by shock. Lance's eyes flew open and he stared dumbstruck at his mate with a growing sense of dread. He gulped.

"'Slick' what?" Keith pressed, leaning closer.

Lance's eye grew wider the closer Keith got to his face. "Nothing," he said through his hand.

One of Keith's ears flicked and he tilted his head slightly to the side as if listening intently. "I'm afraid you'll have to say that again," he said, "without your hand," he leaned close enough for his and Lance's noses to touch, "covering your mouth."

Keith brushed his thumb over Lance's left eye scale causing him to shiver, his hand slipping from his face. The red paladin seized the opportunity; diving forward and capturing his mate's lips with his own in a kiss that wasn't meant to be innocent. It was hot and demanding, burning Lance's lips. Even though he was hyper aware of Keith's higher body temperature, he always seemed to forget how hot Keith actually was now until this happened.

The Blue Lion purred through their bond deep in his mind sending with it a pulse of bone chilling cold that all but drove Lance into Keith's embrace. He leaned close, pressing his body against his mate's and sighing when he felt heat seep into his skin. He looped one leg around Keith's, holding him in place while the hand not pinned between his body and the bed moved up the red paladin's arm to rest on Keith's bicep.

The hand still gripping Lance's hair loosened its hold just enough to slid through the strands so it rested against the back of the prince's head. There it stayed, holding Lance's head in place so he couldn't pull free from the kiss, not that he wanted to. The fingers tightened in his hair pulling a faint whimper of pain from his mouth which had Keith's ears flicking forward in full alert.

Then his back was being pressed into the mattress with the red paladin draped on top of him like a fluffy, purple blanket. He laughed into the kiss at the thought. He reached up with his now free right hand to clutch at his mate's hair before sliding down to press against the back of Keith's neck. The hand the had been on Keith's arm now slid up to Keith's back, pressing flat between his mate's shoulder blades. Every time Keith flexed his muscles, every time his shoulder blades lifted and pressed towards each other, every time Keith moved, Lance felt it.

Keith's skin was warm like the rays of the Daystar on a summer's day and Lance craved it. He tried shifting his body beneath his mate's and felt hot fingers grip the back of his neck in a firm hold. Instantly, he fell still and let Keith do as he pleased. He did voice his complaint in the form of a breathless whine, however. Of course, Keith just chuckled and began moving slowly and sensually like a serpent over Lance's skin.

When he finally broke the kiss, he lowered his mouth to the Mark at the juncture of Lance's neck his left shoulder. He probably would be sleeping in a bit longer tomorrow than he'd originally planned. He didn't feel sorry about that.

* * *

"That's Meserie?" Pidge asked, staring at the planet filling the bridge view screens.

The planet was tidally locked as it orbited a red dwarf star. The side facing the star looked like a desert of bare rock, possibly even molten rock. The other side of the planet was a dark, frozen wasteland where temperatures were no doubt too low for humans to survive. Honestly, there was no way life could exist on this planet as Pidge understood it.

Yet nevertheless, several spaceships of varying size and shape orbited the planet, most near the poles, and many more smaller transport ships flew between the spaceships and the planet's surface. They all flew to the same are: a narrow stretch of land situated in the sunset region that extended from pole to pole.

The Castleship had hovering in low orbit around a gas giant farther away from the star so it could observe the activity on Meserie from a safe distance. Although Pidge had misgivings about their current location, Coran had assured her that the particle barrier was powerful enough to protect them from the dangerous atmosphere of the planet. She had to agree with the fact that other ships would be hard pressed to spot them amidst all the clouds, gravity, and magnetic distortion in the gas giant's vicinity.

"It is," Coran said. "It's changed since I last saw it, though. I suppose 10,000 periods of change would be noticeable on some scale."

"So the trading post place is in that sunset region?" Hunk asked, pointing to the thin line of dark and shadow. "We've found a few exoplanets that have those characteristics in the Goldilocks regions around their parent stars. NASA's been wanting to send probes to a few for a while now, but they're all too far away to make it feasible at the moment."

"Ah, yes, that's right," the advisor said, flashing a smile at the yellow paladin. "You did say that planet you had first contact with the Galra on was the farthest your people had even gotten from your home planet."

"Kerberos," Shiro said, nodding. He leaned forward in his black and white pilot seat on the Castle's bridge so his elbows rested on his thighs. "That's the furthest we've ever sent Humans before this, yeah. But we did send one probe out beyond the planetary orbits of our solar system. It left the heliosphere and entered the heliosheath on 2012."

"2012?" Lance asked curiously. "Is that a measurement of time on your world?"

The Humans all looked at each other in surprise before their shoulders drooped.

"It is, yes," Shiro said. Turning his body so he could look at the prince.

Lance stood by his sister on the control pedestal in the center of the bridge, his gaze fixed on the planet in the view screen. "It's busier than I remember it being," he said.

"It is," Allura agreed. "When F-Father and I visited last, it was still being established."

"I remember," Lance murmured.

After a minute or so, Shiro saw Lance take a deep breath and let it out slowly through his nose. This was the moment they had all been looking forward to and dreading. None of them wanted to separate, especially only a few turns after Sendak's memory and the warped quintessence almost succeeded in tearing their team apart and killing them. But this was necessary if they were going to get everything done quickly and efficiently.

The prince took Keith's hand and squeezed it. "We're ready," he said.


	92. PART 4 - 92: Preparations

**A/N:** Well, tomorrow I have an early class but then my university will close before my afternoon class because SNOW! We're expecting anywhere from 2-4 inches of snow here. That may not seem like a lot, but this is the South. The precip almost always starts off as rain which will freeze on the ground when it gets colder. Then the snow will fall, freezing when it touches the ice below until eventually it covers the ice completely. You can drive in snow, not on ice.

Short version: SNOW DAY! **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Allura gets her way, Shiro gets a surprising adventure, and Lance pushes Allura too far. **  
**

* * *

 **92: Preparations  
**

"Lance, wait."

The prince paused in his preparations for launch and looked up when his sister called him. Keith poked his head out of the pod door curiously before stepping back inside and taking a seat at the controls. Allura walked purposefully into the hanger with her long, white hair tight up in a severe bun, a small bag slung over her shoulder, and wearing her flight suit.

"I want to go with you," she said in a voice that brooked no argument.

Before Lance had a chance to respond, Keith appeared at the pod door again and stared at Allura like she had suddenly grown a second head. "You what?" he gasped.

"I'm going to go with you," she said firmly. Her eyes pinned Keith with a steely glare before settling on her brother.

Not happening.

"You can't do that, Allura," Lance said, turning back to the pod to continue its pre-flight check.

Lance had to inspect the outside of the pod for any flaws or damage that could impact their trek. The last thing they needed was an explosive decompression that shot them all into space. These pods were durable but old, 10,000 periods old to be exact. Every piece of technology had a designed lifespan and these pods were possibly nearing the end of theirs. They would have to invest in either upgrading to a new model or upgrading these pods.

"I wasn't giving you a choice," Allura said primly.

"Neither was I," Lance replied.

"I'm going."

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am."

"No, you're not Allura."

"Yes, I am Lance."

The prince sighed heavily and finally turned to face his sister. "No, you aren't, Allura," he said. "My job is protecting you. I can't do that if you're down there."

"You can't protect me while I'm up here either," the princess said, crossing her arms.

"No," Lance agreed. "But as long as you're up here, I know you have Shiro and the other paladins to protect you and keep you out of trouble."

"Keep me out of…" Allura stared at her brother in disbelief. "You're one to talk."

"I'm _the_ one to talk," Lance said, rolling his eyes dramatically. "That's why I'm telling you not to go down there."

"Well then it's a good thing you can't tell me what to do," Allura said.

Lance blinked and whipped his head back to his sister. "I…" Quiznak it all, she was right. "I'm your Sentinel," he said, trying another route. "Let me do my job."

"And I'm the Heir," Allura said, a smug grin growing on her face. "My word goes."

Quiznak.

"Lotor is down there," the prince said, trying his last card. "He's probably looking for me. Sendak knows my face and I bet he sent an image of me to every high ranking Galra in the empire by now."

"All the better for me to go," Allura insisted. "He'll be looking for you not me. Besides, we both know I'm the more experienced one when it comes to negotiations and diplomacy."

That…was true. Quiznak.

"I…" Lance shut his mouth and tried desperately to come up with an argument of some kind.

"It's fine by me," Keith said, startling both royal siblings.

Allura was pleasantly surprised to have someone backing her. Lance, however, looked positively betrayed that his own mate would argue against him.

"If you can hold your own and handle the negotiations, we'll handle the trading part," the red paladin said easily. "Although, I think Shiro should go with you."

The princess's expression darkened. "Why?" she demanded. "I can protect myself just fine."

Keith snorted. "Yeah, that's what _he_ said," Keith said wryly, jutting his chin out at the prince who flushed bright red. "We all know how well that went, every single time."

"Not _every_ single time," Lance groaned.

He shrank under the force of both Keith and Allura's flat stare but refused to back down.

"Look," Keith said eventually, "you can come with us, but take Shiro with you. That way Lance will be satisfied you have someone there to protect you just in case and we can handle the trading without Lance worrying himself sick."

"I don't worry myself sick," Lance grumbled.

The princess huffed but gave in. "Fine," she muttered. "I'll go get him."

"You didn't tell him you were going to come with us, did you," Lance said. The faint flush on his sister's cheek was answer enough. The blue paladin rolled his eyes. "Go tell him and get back here. We leave in five tecks with or without you."

Allura stayed long enough to shoot him a glare before setting her bag on the floor and rushing off to track down Shiro. The poor black paladin had no idea what was coming. Lance shook his head in pity as he picked up the princess's bag and opened it. It was filled with small trinkets and items that Allura planned on using to trade with. Most of them were not personal items, but a few were.

Lance winced when he noticed a hairbrush made of hand carved lindenwood with stiff Stadig hair as its bristles and a necklace and bracelet set made of etched lin scales. Those were some of Allura's more prized possessions. He glanced up to be sure his sister was gone before he plucked those particular items out of the bag and carrying everything into the pod. He quickly keyed in a code that made a door to a small compartment slide open and placed the hairbrush and the jewelry inside. They would be protected here and unless Allura figured out Lance's passcode, which he was fairly certain she wouldn't, then her personal affects couldn't be used to trade.

"You didn't have to do that, you know," Keith said gently, not looking up from the dashboard as he double checked the flight plan logged into the pod's computer. "I doubt she would have actually traded them."

The prince sighed and shook his head. "You don't know my sister," he said heavily, sliding the compartment door shut and locking it. "She'll do whatever it takes to get what she wants. She's ruthless."

"Sounds like someone else I know," the red paladin said with a teasing tone to his voice.

"I'm trying to decide whether to take that as an insult or not," Lance said, striding up to the front of the pod's cockpit and dropping unceremoniously into the copilot's seat.

Keith shrugged. "I guess you'll never know," he said.

The hiss of the door to the hanger sliding open alerted the two paladins of Allura's return. Keith's ears flicked backwards when both he and Lance heard two sets of footfalls this time. The princess must have found Shiro.

"That was fast," Keith said, mildly impressed.

"Yeah," Lance said, humming thoughtfully. "Too bad they can't move their smegs to bed together that fast."

The red paladin snorted in amusement just in time for Shiro and Allura to arrive and step into the pod. The black paladin was wearing in Voltron flight suit armor and helmet. He nodded to the prince who returned the silent greeting. One of Keith's ears followed the newly arrived couple's movements while his eyes remained focused on the pod's dashboard and view screens. After another couple tecks, Keith let out a relieved sigh and adjusted his position to something more comfortable.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"Yes," Allura answered.

"Ready when you are," Shiro said.

"I'll be flying us down to Meserie's atmosphere," Lance said, reaching out to wrap his hands around the control column. "Then Keith will take over when Nyma contacts me. We'll adopt a holding pattern in high orbit until she gives us the all clear to land."

"Sounds good to me," Shiro said.

"You won't need your helmet, Shiro," Lance said. "The atmosphere is breathable in the actual settlement beneath the particle barrier."

Shiro nodded. "Good to know," he said.

"Do you think Pidge's modifications to our translators will work?" Allura asked, settling down in a comfortable position on the floor behind her brother's pilot seat. She tapped the translator attached behind her left ear. "It would be nice to have the ability to communicate with the Castle without the need for our helmets."

The black paladin grinned. "Knowing Pidge, I'd be surprised it if didn't work. I'd be even more surprised if that's all she added." He smiled sheepishly. "She's always had a knack for adding onto things until there's no room for anything else."

"That's…" Keith hesitated, choosing his words wisely. "Comforting."

Lance snorted. "Nice save," he said under his breath. He tapped the communications button and said in a louder voice, "Coran, we're ready to launch."

 _"Very good, your highness,"_ the advisor said through the pod's speakers. _"Have you seen Allura, by any chance?"_

Lance blinked and slowly turned around to give his sister the best disdainful stare he could manage. The princess met his gaze evenly and smiled, the picture of innocence. Shiro's eyes were wide in surprise, darting between Lance, the comm unit, and Allura. Keith just snorted.

"She's with us," the red paladin said with a grin. "We have Shiro too, don't worry."

 _"She's **what?** " _Coran cried.

"Don't worry, Coran," Lance said, turning back around to face the forward view screen. "They just plan to do some trading and handle the negotiations regarding our alliance with the resistance. Keith and I are going to handle the more dangerous side of things." He shook his head. "With any luck, we'll be back on board the Castle by cycle's end with a juniberry plant or two, new items from the Market, and the details for meeting the resistance's leader to solidify our alliance."

 _"But what about Prince Lotor?"_ Coran said, sounding worried. _"You said he was on the planet."_

"He is last I heard," Lance confirmed in a calm voice. "But Lotor has no knowledge of Allura. He doesn't know what she looks like or anything. As far as he's concerned, she's long dead. I'm the one the Galra Empire wants. They'll focus their attention on me. That should allow Allura to slip past them with ease."

 _"And if that doesn't work?"_ Coran asked. _"We all know how well plans work out, after all."_

"Thanks for that vote of confidence there, Coran," the prince said wryly, his shoulder slumping in a sulk. "Look, if anything happens to Allura, Shiro will be right there to protect her. And if that doesn't work, then I'll be nearby and so will Keith. You need to focus on going through the data we extracted from the remnants of Sendak's memories."

The advisor sighed. _"Alright, if you insist,"_ he muttered. _"Is Allura there with you right now?"_

"I'm here, Coran," Allura said, sitting up and scooting over so she could peek out between the two pilot seats in the cockpit. This way her voice could be picked up by the comm unit more clearly. "What is it?"

 _"Do you want us to inform you immediately if we find anything in Sendak's memories?"_ he asked. _"Or would you rather we wait until you return to the Castle?"_

The princess considered her options thoughtfully for a few ticks before replying. "Wait until I return," she said. "Unless it's something rugent," she amended quickly. "Then contact me immediately."

 _"Yes, princess,"_ the advisor said. _"Alright. Now that all that's taken care of, you four ready to go?"_

"Ready and waiting," Keith said, taking a hold of his control column as well, matching his mate's position.

 _"I'm opening the hanger door now."_

True to Coran's word, the large hanger door to the pod bay lifted and the particle barrier designed to hold the air in the hanger and keep the vacuum of space out shimmered across the expanse. Anything could pass through this particle barrier except for air. Lance eased the pod off of the landing pad and into the air, gliding smoothly towards and through the particle barrier.

"We'll contact you when we reach orbit," he said. "Then again when we land. Afterwards, we'll only communicate when we can. Don't contact us unless it's urgent."

 _"Will do."_

"Hey Coran," Shiro said suddenly, sliding next to Allura so his voice could be heard by the comm unit as well. "Tell Hunk and Pidge to take it easy with the Castle's computer systems." He grinned. "They tend to get a bit carried away with technology."

Coran chuckled. _"I'll do my best,"_ he said. _"What's the worst that could happen?"_

Shiro's smile faded to a sheepish wince. "Don't jinx it," he pleaded. "Just trust me when I say Pidge loves tinkering and Hunk will probably follow her lead. He won't let her blow anything up, I don't think. But let's make sure it doesn't come to that in the first place."

 _"I…I see,"_ Coran said. _"I guess I'll take this a bit more seriously."_ The advisor's deep breath was clearly audible through the pod's speakers. _"Well, have a safe flight. Be safe."_

Lance smiled. "That's the plan," he said.

He severed the connection and gripped the control column and pushed the pod forward, steadily picking up speed until they made the jump to slipstream. This was definitely going to be something. Whether good or bad, he couldn't be sure yet. Better to hope for the best and plan for the worst.

With any luck, he could learn a bit more about the juniberry trader Merla before he met her in person. He didn't like leaping into things without having at least some knowledge about the situation and the people. That was stupid. But he never bothered to plan everything out either. He preferred having a rough outline and improvising the rest. Enemies had a hard time predicting his next move if even he wasn't sure what his next move would be until he did it.

Unfortunately, Lance got the feeling neither Keith nor Shiro were that way. Shiro's entire demeanor screamed military. The military almost always had some sort of plan of action before doing anything. Keith was also military, but more importantly, he was a Galra. True, he was only half Galra, but he had been raised as a Galra, steeped in their culture, and trained as a soldier on a Galra battlecruiser.

The Galra were meticulous planners. If anything happened out of the boundaries of what they planned for, then their entire strategy tended to fall apart. This was one of the reasons why their little team of mismatched paladins had been able to make such headway with Voltron. The Galra never planned for Lance and Allura to reawaken and revive the Castle of Lions. They never planned for other paladins to appear, find, and recover the Lions. The also never planned for those paladins to successfully form Voltron and fight back with any chance of victory.

Yet that's what they had done time and time again. Granted, they still had a very long way to go before their started making any serious progress in this war. But their little victories were beginning to create ripples in the universe.

They managed to form Voltron after knowing each other for a day or so and blown a fully operational Galra battlecruiser that was much more powerful than the ones Lance remembered fighting 10,000 periods ago clear out of the Arusian sky. They had befriended and subsequently hired two traders who worked for the resistance to act as spies for Team Voltron. Those traders had then tracked down the juniberry plant so the Alteans could recover the other half of their biological existence.

Then Team Voltron set off to save the Balmera from the Galra's clutches, befriending the locals as they did so. The Balmera itself had acted of its own accord, saving their team from the Robeast before it could kill them; and it would have killed them. There was no doubt about that. Then the peaceful Balmerans had helped Team Voltron rest and recover after their fight with the Robeast.

They had even banded together despite the efforts of Sendak's memories and the warped quintessence to take over the Castle of Lions, tear their team apart, and eventually kill them all. It left scars; but in the end, they were alive and that's all that mattered.

"We'll be coming out of the slipstream in a couple tecks," Lance said, keeping track of their progress using the view screens. "When Nyma gives us the all clear, we'll land on one of the landing pads and let you and Shiro off there. Does that sound okay, Allura?"

He couldn't see her nod but he heard her hum of agreement. "You're not going to join us?" she asked.

Keith shook his head. "We're going to land at another landing pad nearby," he said.

"That's the best option," the black paladin said. "Allura and I will head on to the Market while you two meet up with Nyma."

"I have to pay Nyma back for the information she's given me," Lance said. "So we may be a while."

"Why don't you pay her while I take care of the juniberry trade with Merla?" Keith asked.

Lance shrugged. "I could," he said. "I'll see what I can do." He flashed his mate a reassuring smile before returning his gaze to the view screen. "Although," he added, "you might want to join us when you're finished dealing with Merla."

The red paladin looked at the prince through the corner of his eye. "Why?" he asked suspiciously.

Lance shrugged and smiled innocently. "No reason," he said. "I just think you might enjoy yourself."

"Lance," Allura said. "What are you planning?"

"Nothing to concern yourself over, 'Llura," the prince said. "Just, if you could get Merla to give you a bottle or two of juniberry juice as well as the plant," he said to Keith, "that would be fantastic."

Lance heard his sister snort from her spot behind his seat and his smile turned teasing. "I think you might enjoy it too, Shiro," he said. "It's delicious and has a way of bringing out the best in my sister and me."

He didn't have to look to know both Alluran and Shiro were blushing. He couldn't resist one more push.

"Particularly in bed."

He ended up having to hand over control of the pod to Keith sooner than he'd planned. He regretted nothing.


	93. PART 4 - 93: Landing

**A/N:** Well, we got a dusting instead of the snow we wanted. A bubble of warm air suddenly settled in the atmosphere preventing snow from forming where I am. It was heartbreaking. But we still have lots of black ice which is seriously dangerous.

Oh well. At least I got to play today in what little snow we did have on top of sleeping in. XD **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Pidge and Hunk solves puzzles two very different ways, Allura and Lance take two very different forms, and Keith is jealous. **  
**

* * *

 **93: Landing**

"This is going to take a little while," Pidge muttered as she typed away on her self-built laptop. She shook her head with an exhausted sighed and ran a hand through her messy hair before returning to typing.

"Any luck with Sendak's memories?" Coran asked, waltzing into the observatory where Pidge and Hunk had taken up temporary residence.

The yellow paladin lifted his gaze to the advisor and sighed, shrugging his shoulders in a half-hearted affirmative. "Kind of," he said aloud. "Pidge is working on translating the information from Galra to English." Rover flashed and beeped in offensive drawing a light chuckle from the mildly frustrated paladin. "With Rover's help, of course," Hunk amended with a friendly pat on the hoverbot's surface.

"Ah. Is English your native language?" Coran asked, striding across the room to sit cross legged next to the yellow paladin.

"It is, yeah," Hunk said with a nod. "Well," he corrected, "it's my second language, actually. But it's Pidge's first language, isn't it Pidge?"

"Shut up and let me work," the green paladin snapped without any real anger.

Hunk grinned taking no offense. "Don't worry," he said, nudging the concerned advisor. "She gets like this when she's in the zone."

"In what zone?" Coran asked in confusion.

"Oh, right. It's an Earth phrase," Hunk explained. "It means 'focused' or something like that."

"I…see," Coran said, nodding slowly. "You have interesting phrases on your planet."

"Okay nerds, I've got something," Pidge said suddenly, startling her companions. "It's not as much as I'd like, but it's all I've got for now. I had to write a brand new code from scratch just to translate this shit. It's not as easy as it sounds considering I have no flippin' idea how the Galra language even works. Grammar, spelling, syntax, all that shit. I'm totally just giving it an educated guess."

"Maybe," Hunk said, leaning so he could look over his friend's shoulder. "But last time you made an educated guess, we rescued Shiro, found the Yellow Lion, and traveled through a wormhole to a completely different planet."

Pidge glanced at Hunk with calculating eyes.

"What?" Hunk asked.

"I'm trying to decide if you're insulting me or complimenting me," she said.

Hunk smiled broadly. "Well, since I found Yellow, I'd say it was a compliment," he said, his smile softening to something gently and loving. "She's…" he shook his head as he struggled to find the right words, "amazing."

At that, Pidge snorted and grinned. "Green's better," she said, and returned her attention to the computer in her lap. "Okay," she said. "I've got some gibberish, broken sentences, a few individual words and numbers. But the most interesting part is this string of symbols here."

She made a few quick keystrokes and two lines of Galra symbols zoomed in so they took up the center of the computer screen.

"Why aren't they translated yet?" Hunk asked.

The green paladin grumbled something under her breath. "My program is working on it but it's like there's a firewall or something around them protecting them."

"Oh! That means this is important," Hunk said, his eyes sparkling with the chance to solve a brand new puzzle. "Hang on a sec. Let me write this down and see if I can figure it out by hand."

Pidge stared at Hunk incredulously for a moment before shaking her head. "Why you feel the need to do everything the old fashioned way is beyond me," she muttered.

Hunk scoffed. "Um, excuse you. But writing things down will never go out of style," he said proudly.

"Erm, if I might interject," Coran said, holding up a finger to get the paladins' attention.

"Yeah?" Pidge said.

"What is a 'firewall?'" he asked. "I've never heard that word before. But judging by the way you talk about it, I get the feeling it isn't a literal wall of fire." He paled and looked between the two in growing fear. "At least, I certainly hope it isn't."

Pidge rolled her eyes and went back to typing completely dismissing the advisor's ridiculous question. Hunk, however, chuckled and patted Coran's back in a friendly, reassuring way.

"Don't worry," the yellow paladin said. "It's not a literal wall of fire, I promise."

The tension in Coran's shoulders immediately drained leaving him slumped in relief. "Oh, that's good to hear," he said.

Pidge suddenly gave Coran a suspicious look. "Why do I get the feeling you don't trust us?" she demanded.

"Well," the advisor said, some of the tension returning as he tugged on his bushy, orange mustache awkwardly, "Shiro did warn me about your tendency towards, erm, blowing things up."

Pidge threw her head back and groaned dramatically. "That was one time," she whined loudly. _"One time_ and he _still_ won't let me live it down. God, that guy can hold a grudge."

Hunk stared at Pidge with a look that was equal parts impressed and wary, perhaps weighted more towards the wary side of things. "I kind of want to know this story but I kind of don't at the same time," he said.

"Good, cause you'll hear jack squat from me," Pidge said curtly.

Hunk held up his hands. "Okay, touchy subject. Got it. Anyway," he turned back to Coran, "a firewall is what we call a digital creation designed to allow outbound communication but limit incoming information."

"So, essentially, it's a particle barrier?" Coran asked.

Hunk nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, kind of like that," he said. "Only a firewall only exists in the digital world. It's not a physical object like a particle barrier but a part of a computer system or network that acts a lot like a particle barrier. Depending on the firewall," he glanced at the green paladin typing away on her keyboard, "it can be easy or hard to find a way around it."

"I could break this one down if I even understood how this thing works," Pidge grumbled in annoyance. "But since I have nothing to go on, I can't just create a virus that would attack just the firewall and leave the data itself as is."

Coran sat back and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Sounds interesting," he said. "If you need any help, you could hook your device to the Castle's syste-"

"No! Nope!" both Hunk and Pidge said at the same time.

"Not after the last time we did that," Hunk said, eyes wide and shaking his head as if to get the horrible memories out of his head.

"Tell me about it," Pidge said. "Thanks for the offer, Coran. The Castle's systems would definitely speed things up, but I'm not taking the chance of Sendak taking over the ship, again."

The advisor winced and sulked. "Yes, good point." He slumped in defeat. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

The yellow and green paladins looked at each other for a moment.

"Why not?" Hunk said to which Pidge shrugged and nodded. "You wouldn't happen to have any spare memory storage crystal things lying around, would you?" he asked.

Coran sat up with an eager smile. "Yes, we do, as a matter of fact," he said.

"If you could bring us a couple of those, that would be great," Hunk said with a smile. "We can upload anything Pidge finishes translating and clearing of any malware type stuff onto the crystals. Sound good?" he asked his friend.

"Sounds good to me," Pidge said without looking up.

"Oh, and could you grab me some paper and something to write with?" Hunk asked. "I want to write those Galra symbols things Pidge is working on down. Maybe I can figure it out before she does."

The green paladin's fingers suddenly stilled and brown eyes pinned Hunk with a steely glare. "Is that a challenge?" she said.

Hunk grinned. "You want it to be?" he teased.

Pidge thought for a moment, then grinned and Hunk knew what her answer was.

"Wait 'till I get my writing stuff then we'll start," Hunk said. "Coran, make sure she doesn't cheat."

"I don't cheat!" Pidge cried in an offended tone.

"Or blow things up," Hunk added playfully.

"Oh my God, that was _one fraking time!"_ she shouted.

* * *

 _:There should be a break in the storms shortly,:_ Nyma said. _:Just follow the inbound ships and you should be fine.:_

Lance relayed the trader's instructions to Keith before returning his gaze to Nyma's form which only he could see. "Keith and I are going to drop Shiro and Allura off at a separate landing pad before flying to you," he said.

 _:A- She's coming with you?:_ Nyma asked, stunned. She scoffed. _:I thought the idea was for her **not** to e caught.:_

"That's what I said," Lance grumbled, ignoring the glare his sister shot him not so subtly. "If she keeps to the plan, then everything should go smoothly. No one should recognize her."

Nyma looked like she wanted to argue but eventually just shrugged. _:Fine, whatever. What about Shiro?:_

"What about him?" the prince asked, frowning.

Nyma rolled her eyes. _:He's the frelling Champion, you quiznak,:_ she said. _:He's pretty recognizable. A lot of people go to the arenas for the gladiator games. Lots of good trades there, not all things and not all legal. I'd be stunned beyond belief if no one recognizes him.:_

Lance opened his mouth the reply, and shut it again. "I hadn't thought of that," he muttered sheepishly.

"Hadn't thought of what?" his sister asked.

The blue paladin sighed and looked up at Shiro. "You're the Champion," he said simply, noticing the way Shiro flinched at the title. "You're recognizable."

Shiro's dark gray eyes became shadowed and he hung his head in shame. "I forgot about that," he said. He ran a hand through his short black and white hair. "If I wear my helmet, do you think anyone would notice?"

Lance chewed his lip in thought but it was Allura who spoke. "Maybe," she said. "I'd keep it on just in case."

"Besides," Lance said, unable to resist the chance to tease his sister's potential suitor, "I hear uniforms are all the rage these days."

 _:Well,:_ Nyma said, adding her opinion to the mix, _:so long as it's not a Galra uniform. Those can be a bit of a downer, if you know what I mean.:_

"Then it's a good thing Keith won't be wearing his," Lance said.

"Wearing my what?" the red paladin asked with a suspicious glance at his mate.

"Nothing," Lance said, with a flirtatious wink.

 _:I'll be waiting,:_ Nyma said. _:Get down here as soon as you can. The faster we get this plant business over with, the better.:_

"Understood," Lance said. "See you shortly."

Nyma nodded and her form vanished.

"Any movement yet?" he asked.

"Nothing yet?" Keith said, studying the main view screens. "But the storms seem to be letting up a bi- Oh. The first ship just broke from orbit."

"And there go the others," Shiro said with a satisfied smile. "Let's keep up."

The black and red paladins took control of the pod and flew down to join the ship descending into the planet's atmosphere. Lance stood and leaned forward, bracing himself by putting a hand on both pilot seats. Allura stood and leaned next to him, placing her supporting hand on Shiro's shoulder.

The storms on Meserie were fueled by the intense winds and temperature difference between the sunlit and sunless sides of the planet. Through the cloud breaks Lance could see something shimmering faintly in far below. It got brighter the lower they went until finally they broke through the bottom layer of clouds and he recognized it for what it was: the particle barrier protecting the trade outpost from the dangerous weather of Meserie.

From the looks of it, the storms would break soon allowing the eternal sunlight to break through once again. But that wouldn't matter once they crossed the threshold of the barrier. Sure enough, a large section of the protective shield dimmed until its power faded completely allowing travel between the trade post and the atmosphere. The little Altean pod didn't take precedence compared to several larger ships, but that wasn't too big of an issue. With a bit of patience, the made it through the barrier and flew towards one of the smaller landing pads.

Keith took full control from there allowing Shiro to stand and switch places with Lance. The red paladin eased the pod down to a soft landing while Allura grabbed her bag of items to trade.

"You might want to change your form 'Llura," Lance said. "Just in case."

The princess rolled her eyes in fond exasperation. "I will," she drawled.

"Change your form?" Shiro asked. "To wha-"

The black paladin trailed off as he watched Princess Allura's skin suddenly fade to a deathly white that very nearly matched her hair. Her fingernails extended to something that was more reminiscent of claws, if claws could be elegant. But perhaps the most startling change was her eyes. Allura's eyes were no longer the soft, gentle turquoise Shiro had come to know and care for deeply. They were now a pale, sea foam green that was almost too light to be seen through the whiteness of the princess's new form.

Lance turned in his seat, took in Allura's new form, and lifted a judgmental eyebrow. "A Wraith sister?" he said. "Really? Of all the races in the universe, you chose a Wraith?"

"That would be a Wraith Queen," Allura corrected with just enough haughtiness to pull it off. "And, as it happens, I find the Wraith a fascinating race."

"They feed on other life forms like parasites," Lance argued.

"Carnivores," Allura corrected. "Anyone who automatically assumes they're at the top of the food chain is rather arrogant, if you asked me."

"I didn't."

Allura shrugged. "The fact remains. I doubt many people will stop a female Wraith from going about her business," she said.

Lance snorted. "No, I guess not." He glanced at Shiro and sighed. "Hold onto your heart, lover boy," he teased. "Or your Wraith lady will steal it from you."

Allura smacked her brother none too gently over the head while Shiro flushed and blinked like a deer in headlights. Keith just rolled his eyes and opened the pod door for the princess and Shiro to disembark.

"Be safe," Lance said seriously as he watched his sister step out into the unknown.

She paused just outside the doorway and smiled. "I will."

Lance caught Shiro's eye and the black paladin nodded seriously in understanding. Then the door slid shut and Keith took off again leaving them behind. Lance turned around in his seat and rubbed his face with his hands. The anxiety was getting to him.

"Are you okay?" Keith asked.

After a moment, Lance nodded and lowered his hands. "Yes," he said. "I just have a bad feeling is all."

"Do you want to go back?" Keith slowed the pod slightly in preparation for a sharp turn if Lance asked for it. "I don't mind. We can call it quits now, if you want."

"No," Lance said firmly. "I'll be fine. Just… Let me think of what form to wear."

Keith glanced at his mate with interest. "You're shapeshifting too?"

The prince shrugged. "Don't really have a choice if I want to go unnoticed," he said. "My face is known to the Galra, particularly the Galra in positions of command. I would stupid to think Lotor doesn't at least know what I look like if he isn't hunting me himself."

"You think he could be?"

"Let's just say, it's a very real possibility," Lance said, nodding.

He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. His right eye socket still ached from when his cybernetic eye shorted out due to Pidge's bayard induced electrocution a couple cycles ago. She'd had good reason to do what she did, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt. Still, better a little pain than the alternative.

"There she is."

Keith's voice startled Lance out of his doze. The prince sat up and looked at the view screens. Sure enough, Nyma stood on one of the larger landing pads near several other parked spacecraft. Keith maneuvered the pod down so it landed in front of the trader.

"One of these days, I'm going to do all the flying," Lance muttered while Keith powered down the pod.

The red paladin snickered and stood, walking back to open the pod door and step outside. Lance took a deep breath, shifted, and joined his mate outside. Nyma was in the middle of talking to Keith when she fell silent and stared at Lance in confusion. But it was Keith's expression that made Lance preen with delight.

"Careful there, Keith," he teased, his voice still his own. "Your jaw might fall off if you keep letting it dangle like that."

"I…ah, you're…"

Lance snorted at his lover's inelegant fumbling and turned to Nyma. "Nyma," he said. "You look well. Better than a holographic image, I must say." He let his eyes wander down and up her figure with pleasure. "Just as lovely too."

He didn't miss the dark gleam in Keith's eyes. Jealousy. It sent shivers down Lance's spine.

"Lance?" Nyma gasped, staring hard at the prince's new form.

Lance held out his hands and shrugged. "The one and only," he said. "I hope you don't mind the hair. I know I'm not a natural blonde, but I thought I would try it out anyway. I can always change it later."

The trader's surprise morphed into amusement. "Well, if I'd known you could do that…" She bit her lip and hissed.

"Mm?" Lance sauntered forward, taking care to sway his hips in the way he remembered Keith liked. "You were saying?"

Nyma snorted. "Well, I'd certainly like to finish," she began. "But if looks could kill," she shifted her lidless sapphire gaze to Keith, "then your mate would have murdered me a thousand times by now."

Lance smirked and followed the trader's graze. Sure enough, Keith's fluffy ears were pinned to his head and his violet and gold eyes were narrowed and glaring daggers at Nyma. Lance let his eyelids droop low over his eyes and moved until he was very much in his mate's personal space.

"What's the matter, Keith?" he asked, his voice adopting a lilting tone. "Don't you like my new form?" He pressed his entire body against Keith's, including the two new breasts on his chest. "Am I not pretty as a female?"

Keith's ears flipped up and forward just as those two-toned eyes widened in pleased shock. Lance grinned, proud of his temporary body. He had experience shifting into female forms before, just not often. He much preferred his natural male form. He hadn't bothered changing his entire physique like Allura did. Instead, he went for the more subtle alternative, if growing breasts and changing his short hair to a Daystar gold was considered subtle.

Keith seemed to like it, though, if the hardening heat against Lance's hips was any indication.


	94. PART 4 - 94: Pythoness

**A/N:** Sorry this didn't go up last night as planned. My tablet runs Windows 10 and last night WHILE I WAS TYPING it decided to shut down and download updates. Luckily, I had literally just hit "Save" when my computer shut down so my stuff was safe. But I hadn't had the chance to transfer my writing from my desktop to AO3. So I decided to just wait and update tonight instead.

Add/Drop week ends this Wednesday. Classes started last Thursday. Because that makes perfect sense. *note the heavy sarcasm* Fun fact, Fall 2016 was UGA's longest semester in its history. Another fun fact, this spring semester is shaping up to be second place, if not tie with last semester. Not. OK.

 _Pythoness_ \- old Greek for a woman who practices divination; pronounced "PIE-tho-ness **"  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Lance talks, Keith gets answers, Nyma hates the answers, and Merla is a manipulative bitch. She likes it that way. **  
**

* * *

 **94: Pythoness**

"So," Lance said, keeping pace with Nyma, "how do you want to handle this?"

The trader shrugged and stepped onto the lift, followed closely by Lance in his female form and Keith. "We'll go to The Mistro," Nyma said as the lift began moving downwards. "Merla is staying there at the moment. Coincidentally, so is Lotor. So I suggest you two at least try to keep a low profile."

"Hardly sounds like a coincidence," Keith muttered darkly.

"It isn't," Nyma said, her lips pressed together in a grim line. "Lotor is one of her best clients."

Lance furrowed her brow in confusion. "Clients?" he asked. "How can he be her client? He's Galra. He can't have the juniberry. It would kill him."

"Half Galra, actually," Keith corrected. "No one knows what his other half is. Either way, he may be a twisted bastard, but his mind is sharp. If he was using the juniberry as a drug, I doubt that would have gone unnoticed. The emperor wouldn't have given as much power as he has if he was an addict."

Nyma shook her head. "Doesn't change the fact that he is one of her biggest clients," she said. She stepped off the lift a few levels below the landing pads and onto a skypath as she continued to speak. "He has a harem, as I'm sure you know, and-"

"Wait, he what?" Lance gasped.

Nyma paused and turned back to stare at the currently female prince in surprise. "You didn't know?" she said. "It's common knowledge. It's actually one of the reasons why he's not too popular with the Galran masses."

The prince looked completely thrown by this new information. "I thought the Galra only ever took one mate," she murmured.

"They do," Keith said coldly. "None of them are his mate. He just uses them."

"And throws them away when he's done with them," Nyma finished, moving forward again. "The ones who join his harem willingly aren't a problem. The ones who aren't taken willingly, are…"she clicked her tongue, "subdued."

"With the drug," Lance murmured in dawning understanding. She took a deep breath and let it all out in a heavy sigh, running a hand through her short, currently blonde hair. "That's not what I was expecting. That could be a deal breaker."

Keith glanced at her with worry in his violet and gold eyes. "What do you mean by that?" he asked cautiously.

The blue paladin looked over at Keith briefly before dropping her mismatched gaze and shaking her head. "Nothing," she said. "I'm just a little unnerved, is all."

The worry in the red paladin's eyes abruptly turned to frustration. He grabbed his mate's arm and pulled them over so they stood near a doorway to one of the several establishments on this level. Nyma stopped and followed them curiously.

"What did you mean by that, Lance?" Keith demanded.

"Nothing," Lance said. "It really is nothing. It was just a passing idea-"

"What was it?" Keith asked, pinning his mate in place with his gaze and his strong grip on his arm. "Lance, what were you planning?"

The prince hesitated, then sighed and leaned back against the wall in defeat. "It really is nothing," she said, meeting Keith's gaze evenly. "I hadn't even decided whether to go through with it yet or not."

"What was it?" Keith asked slowly, enunciating every word.

Lance groaned. "Politics," she said finally. "I'm not a major player in politics, never have been. That was always Allura's area of expertise. I'm a pilot, a-" She fell silent when someone walked by them briskly into the building. "A Druid," she continued in a softer voice. "The Sentinel," she finished with a slow smirk. "I watch, listen, learn, and protect. What better way to do that then to learn about the enemy from the enemy's own mouth?"

Nyma's lidless blue eyes grew wide in shock. "You want to meet Lotor in person?" she hissed. "Why? How stupid can you be?"

"Is it really stupid if it works?" Lance snapped back angrily.

"If _what_ works?" the trader demanded.

"Lance," Keith said, drawing the blue paladin's gaze back to him. "Why would… What are you planning?"

Lance pursed her lips. "Look," she said. "Princes, princesses, Heirs, Sentinels, whatever, _all_ of that meant nothing on Altea. They were literally just the titles of those given the duty of representing our people in the Universal Union of Worlds. The Sentinel protected the Heir who was both the leader of our people and our chosen representative. When and if the Heir was unable to represent for whatever reason, the Sentinel had full power and authority to take their place."

"What does that have to do with-"

"Shut up and I'll tell you," Lance snapped at the trader. "I was never supposed to be the Sentinel. That was never the plan. I was a student in the Druid Collegium studying to be a Master Pilot with lots and lots of other students of many races from many planets with many different cultures. But as the Heir's son, I had to retain at least some modicum of awareness of the political playing field on other planets." She lifted a blonde eyebrow. "How do think I would do that?"

"How would I know?" Nyma said in exasperation. "I'm a trader not a…" She stiffened and fell silent, her eyes growing wide. "Gossip," she said. "You listened to their gossip."

"Listened, participated, perpetuated, and everything in between," Lance said.

"Rolo and me," Nyma said carefully, "we aren't the first spies you've ever had, are we?"

"Well," the prince said, tilting her head slightly, "you are the first ones to _know_ you're spies."

Keith frowned. "I-I don't understand," he said. "How could you have spies who didn't know they were spies?"

"Because they weren't spies in the strictest sense," the prince said with a casual shrug. "They were friends, colleagues, professors, visitors." Her mismatched blue eyes met Keith's violet and gold. "They gossiped. People talk about the latest current events, they complain about circumstances and people, they gossip about who was in bed with who and whether that relationship was publicly acceptable or not, who was the child of whom, who had the power, all of that."

Lance smiled. "All I had to do was host a few parties, flirt, and remember people's faces and names and people would talk to me," she said. "As an Altean, my general political standing wasn't a threat to them. As Altean royalty, as they perceived it anyway, I was high enough up on the local political food chain to warrant hearing the juicier bits of information."

"They were you spies," Nyma said. Her expression turned thoughtful. "Clever."

Lance rolled her eyes. "Flattery is attractive," she said. "But don't bother denying you do exactly the same thing. Just because you don't call you contacts and customers 'spies' doesn't mean that they are."

Nyma nodded slowly in agreement. "True," she admitted.

"You're dodging the question, Lance," Keith said. "What are you planning?"

Lance sighed. "On other planets, the royalty are often the highest echelons of power," the prince said. "The throne is inherited from parent to child. All that power just waiting to be claimed. If only the parent would die." She grinned, a dark gleam in her mismatched blue eyes. "Zarkon has conquered much of the known universe and has been on the throne for over 10,000 standard periods. That's a lot of power and a long time to wait to inherit it." She flicked her gaze to Nyma. "Don't you think?"

"You want to stage a takeover," Keith murmured in realization. He lifted his gaze to the tower they stood by before looking back at Lance. "That's-"

"Insane," Nyma interrupted.

"Actually," Keith said, shooting a brief glare at the trader for interrupting him, "I was going to say that's a good idea."

"What? You mean you're agreeing to this?" Nyma gasped, staring at the red paladin in shock. "He's- _She's_ your mate. If you really care about her, then you wouldn't let her do something this stupid and dangerous."

"He doesn't _let-_ "

"I don't _let_ him do anything," Keith said, running his thumb over the fabric covering his mate's arm. "He- _She_ does what she wants. But if she thinks she's going into this on her own," he narrowed his eyes at Lance, "without any sort of backup or protection, she's _gravely,"_ he practically growled the word, "mistaken."

The prince blinked in surprise, his mouth hanging open slightly. "I…" He hesitated, flicking his gaze between Nyma and Keith.

"What?" Nyma snapped in annoyance. "What other crazy ideas do you have floating around in that stupid head of yours?"

"Don't call him stupid," Keith warned.

Lance shrugged and lifted her eyebrows in honest bewilderment. "I was just expecting a bit more resistance to the idea, I guess," she said, looking at Keith specifically.

The red paladin shrugged. "Why? It's a good idea. But," he said, holding up a finger in front of the prince's lips, silencing her, "if you really think you're going to contact Lotor without me by your side, I'll-"

"What?" Lance asked with a teasing smile. "You'll punish me?"

Keith snorted and grinned. "Exactly."

Lance's smile broadened to Nyma dramatic huff of exasperation. "I look forward to it," he whispered.

"Oh, I doubt that," Keith said, tapping his mate's nose. "I'm pretty sure you won't enjoy having the Castle's emergency alarm go off at random times during the night," he said, enjoying the way Lance's smile vanished along with all the color in his face. "Or if all of your skin care products suddenly went missing," he added.

"You wouldn't dare," Lance breathed, eyeing her lover warily.

Keith gave Lance a disdainful look. "And you," he patted lance's slender shoulder patronizingly, "obviously don't know me very well."

"Wha?"

"You were taking us somewhere?" Keith asked, releasing his hold on his mate and turning expectantly to Nyma.

The trader glanced at Lance's stunned expression and rolled her eyes. "Idiots," she muttered under her breath. "This way." She waved her hand carelessly and strolled on down the skypath with Keith by her side forcing Lance to hurry to catch up.

* * *

He wasn't sure he liked her. He respected her confidence and was wary of her Magog-spawned microraptor, but he didn't like her and he didn't trust her as far as he could throw her.

 _:You're wise.:_

He stiffened minutely, fighting back a snarl at the mental intrusion. The microraptor on Merla's shoulder fluffed up its feathers in a threatening manner and focused its beady eyes directly on him. It took much of his concentration to calm down.

 _:Don't worry,:_ Merla said, not one glancing in his direction. _:I'm not mad. Far from it actually.:_

That was somewhat of a relief.

 _:Your prince is a bore,:_ the trader complained. Her deep red lips were spread in a pleased smile as she spoke with Lotor. _:So unoriginal. Always the juice, never anything else. Even **I** know moderation is key.:_ She sighed mentally. _:But you would know all about that, wouldn't you, Soldier?:_

That comment brought a frown to Thace's face. He narrowed his eyes in disapproval. _:You should watch your tongue, Pythoness,:_ he thought. _:We wouldn't want you to lose it.:_

To Thace's chagrin, Merla laughed out loud, lifting her hand to cover her lips. Lotor's eyes narrowed dangerous though he kept his expression pleasant.

"Is something amusing you, Lady Merla?" the Galran Prince asked, a slight edge to his tone.

The red haired trader smiled and lowered her hand. "Your pet guard is rather loyal to you is all," she said, eyeing Thace with her golden eyes. "He told me in no uncertain terms to watch my tongue." She chuckled. "Had I known your guards were so loyal, Lotor-"

 _"Prince_ Lotor," the Galra corrected in frustration.

"Then I would have at least been mildly impressed by your offered payment this time around," she continued as if Lotor had not interrupted her. She rolled her shoulders, thoroughly unimpressed by her royal client's darkening mood. "As it is, I'm afraid your payment this time is insufficient in regards to your requested merchandise," she said, uncrossing her legs and preparing to stand. "You and I both know you're trying to underpay me. I'll let it slide this time and call this a failed trade with no hard feelings." She stood and focused her slitted pupils on the prince with a look of disdain. "But if you have any desire to keep me as your trader, then I suggest next time we meet you have the usual payment."

"You insult me, Merla," Lotor said, standing gracefully from his couch to join the trader. "Our agreed payment was 30 marks per shipment. Why the sudden change?"

Merla snorted and reached up to pet her microraptor's feathers. "Because the marks you're trying to pay me with are fake," she said.

"How so?" the prince asked.

"Their weight isn't exactly 30 bits," she replied. "Surely you know a single Galran mark weighs exactly one bit. What trader would I be if I didn't know that?" Her grin sharpened. "What kind of prince would you be if you didn't know that?"

Thace tensed, ready to step in and stop things from escalating as they were won't to do when the prince's honor was questioned. Lotor was not known for his mercy in battles of any kind, after all. Even if those battles were nothing but arguments that came to blows.

But to his surprise, Prince Lotor smiled and nodded. "I'm impressed," he said. "I didn't think you would catch that."

Merla sneered derisively. "Don't patronize me, Lotor," she warned. "You don't scare me. Despite your prowess in battle, the political power you wield compared to your father is almost insultingly little. Enough of your fellow…aristocracy," she said, her pause just long enough to be mocking, "utilize my services to make up the loss of your patronage. I wouldn't be losing a thing. Although," she added, looking away and strolling out onto the balcony, leaning on the railing and looking out over the view of Meserie, "I think you would be losing something valuable if we parted ways, as I'm sure you're aware."

A smile stretched across the prince's face as he approached Merla from behind. The trader never looked back, but her microraptor did, its beady eyes locking on the prince's form. "While you're not wrong," he agreed, "you are mistaken."

"Oh?"

"You would miss my face," Lotor said startling a cackle from the trader.

"A blot on the universe's perfect record," she said. "The stars above and below regret the day you appeared in this world."

"Not that your face is any better, ugly whore," Lotor said.

Thace pressed his lips together, schooling his expression carefully so it revealed no tell-tale emotion. He was beginning to suspect he knew what was going on. If he was right, then there would be no need to interfere.

Merla smiled back, lifting a dark red eyebrow in a perfect arch. "I take that as a compliment," she said. She lifted one of her perfectly manicured fingernails and trailed it alone the Galran prince's cheek. "I slept with my supplier to get this shipment," she admitted shamelessly. "Pity it's a pathetic batch. The quality is one of the worst I've ever seen. I doubt you would find any use for it."

Yes, this is exactly what Thace thought it was. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He would never understand traders and their ridiculous methods.

"Well, trash isn't worth much," Lotor said. "Why keep it? I have a much better way to get rid of unwanted garbage than you do."

"Oh really?" Merla asked, flicking a strand of long white hair off of Lotor's shoulder. She allowed her eyelids to fall low over her eyes, her dark lashes veiling her golden gaze. "Well I'm afraid I like my garbage disposal process," she said. "I refuse to trade for anything more than what my trash is worth." She smiled. "It's only fair. Trash for trash."

Lotor hummed thoughtfully, studying the trader's eyes. "Alright, if you insist," he said, strolling back to the doorway to his balcony and snapped his fingers.

Thace watched as a lovely person with mauve, freshly oiled skin that gleamed in the light filtering through the particle barrier far above stepped out from a side room and hurried to the prince's side. Her hair was long, straight, and the same shade of gold as her eyes. Her ears were sharply pointed and there was a small, thumb sized, golden scale on either side of her eyes. The resemblance to… _her_ made Thace sick. The fact this was Lotor's latest favorite toy made him furious.

Though most of the Galra would ever call Lotor's current favorite a toy within earshot of the prince himself, they didn't both hiding their opinions from the toy when they fell out of favor. Then they were fair game. Thace, however, was wise enough to keep his mouth shut and his thoughts to himself. Lotor had a way of exacting retribution for any insults thrown at his favorites, something Thace had witnessed personally.

 _Such lack of loyalty,_ Thace thought darkly. _Disgusting._

 _:Agreed.:_

 _:Get out of my head, Pythoness,:_ he snapped.

 _:Touchy, touchy.:_

Merla clicked her tongue, and purred. "A pity, Lotor," she said. "Taking such an ugly thing under your wing."

Thace tensed, his eyes flickering to the prince warily. The favorite by Lotor's side, however, smiled.

"True," she said, startling Thace. None of the other toys in Lotor's harem ever dared speak without the prince's permission. "The prince's heart must be a shriveled shell to accept one such as me." Her smiled sharpened. "As shriveled as your own."

Merla's lashes lowered and she licked her lips. "I hate you," she said simply.

"As I, you," the favorite replied.

Merla hummed, her eyes drinking in the favorite's form. She obviously liked what she saw. She met Lotor's eye. "Bribery, dear Lotor?" she asked. "I never would have suspected you'd stoop so low."

This time, Lotor's gaze did narrow dangerously. "She may be ugly, but she's all I've got," he said.

"I'm sure," Merla drawled. "I don't mix business with pleasure."

"But business _is_ pleasure if handled correctly," Lotor said. "Take it or leave it."

The microraptor still perched on Merla shoulder cawed twice as the trader laughed merrily. "No deal," she said. "I'll show myself out."

She strolled confidently passed the fuming prince with her head held high and her shoulders square. That gave her a cursory look before dismissing her and focusing on the prince. Merla's heels clicked across the floor. They stopped. There was the familiar beeping of the access panel activating. Then-

"Fine," the prince said. "What do you want?"

 _:Well done,:_ Thace though, knowing Merla would hear him.

 _:As usual,:_ can the arrogant reply. Aloud, Merla said, "I want information." She turned on her heel and stared at Lotor, accepting the challenge. "I know that father of yours has something big planned." She strode back to the prince, one slow step at a time. "It's no secret. His pet Druids have been scurrying around om more of your battlecruisers than usual lately." She clucked and examined her fingernails. "It's bad for business." She smirked. "Tell me what your father is up to, plus the usual payment, and the shipment is yours."

"In its entirety?"

Merla glared at the prince. "What do you take me for?" she demanded. "I'm a Trader. I keep my end of the bargain."

"In its entirety?" Lotor repeated.

Merla pursed her lips. Finally, she rolled her eyes and groaned. "Most of it," she said. "I need to keep a few to help renew my personal stash. You'll want more in another few turns, won't you?"

"How much?"

Merla shrugged. "You always want the berries and the juice. I need the plants to keep that coming."

"How much?" Lotor demanded.

"Two bottles," Merla said firmly. "One for my personal use and one in case I need to bargain my way out of a tight spot. The rest is yours." Her snake-like eyes shifted to Lotor's favorite. "And your toy's." She grinned. "Do we have a deal?"

Thace watched as Lotor visibly battled with himself before finally nodding. "Yes," he growled angrily. "We have a deal."

"Good," Merla chirped happily. "I'll have my servant bring you your shipment while you pay me." She smiled. "He should be here shortly."

"When?"

Merla's smile widened. "Shortly," she repeated. "Now." sat in one of the chairs in the common room near the balcony, sprawling her body and clothes over the seat without regard for anything but herself. "This information. Tell me. And don't try to lie to me, dearest Lotor." She grinned. "I'll know if you do."


	95. PART 4 - 95: The Mistro

**A/N:** Ok. I'm beginning to think I won't be able to update this fic every single day with my new class and work schedule for this semester unfortunately. I'm sorry y'all. I should be able to update every other day most of the time, though. I'll work towards updating every day, but yeah... It'll probably end up being every other day. Sorry about that.

In other news, the next chapter should be fun~ **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Shiro watches another trade with Allura at the helm, Rolo is shocked, and Nyma has plans for Lance. **  
**

* * *

 **95: The Mistro**

"They don't seem to like you," Shiro said, glancing around warily at the many people going out of their way to avoid him and Allura as they moved through the marketplace.

"Mm. The Wraith aren't exactly known for being overly friendly," she said. "I'm beginning to rethink taking this form."

"A little for that, don't you think?"

"Unfortunately," the princess muttered. "Might as well make the best of it."

She paused at one of the larger stands and considered its wares. "Pick out what you think you and the other paladins may need," she said, nodding to the clothes folded neatly in piles on the tables. "I'm sure wearing the same thing every day can grow old."

The black paladin snorted. "Heck yeah, it does," he said with a grin. "How are we going to pay for all of this, though?"

Allura tilted her Wraith head to the bag she still held. "We choose our wares and then haggle for a fair trade," she said.

"So nothing has a set price?" Shiro asked curiously, fingering a shirt that looked promising for Hunk.

"Everything has a value," she explained, "but that value can be expressed in different ways. No everyone values the same thing the same way."

"One man's trash is another man's treasure," he said.

"Precisely," the princess said.

Shiro shook his head and picked up the shirt he'd been eyeing and tucked it under his arm as he moved to the next pile of clothes. It took a few minutes for Shiro to finish looking through the piles. When all was said and done, he had picked up seven shirts of varying styles and colors, seven pairs of pants, and a couple shirts that were long enough to pass as short dresses in case Allura or Pidge wanted to wear them.

"Is that all?" the princess asked, looking through the black paladin's selections.

Shiro flushed lightly and shrugged. "I'm not much of a shopper and I don't have the best fashion sense, to be honest," he admitted. "But I think they'll like them. I tried to grab something for everyone. Even Coran."

"I'm sure he'll appreciate that," Allura said, flashing him a smile.

It was slightly disturbing to see that smile on a face that was too pale to be considered health. Allura's Wraith skin was so pale as to also be a greenish color. Even some of the veins were visible in her neck and cheeks. If Shiro didn't know better, he'd say she looked like a drowning victim brought back to life by some twisted Druid magic.

Uncomfortable, he cleared his throat and began searching for the trader in charge of this stand. As if on cue, an alien of indiscernible gender stepped out from around one of the other tables and approached the due.

"I hope you have found the merchandise to your liking," the trader said to Allura.

"We did, yes," the princess said.

Shiro blinked and glanced at Allura through the corner of his eye. He had never heard the princess talk like that before. She had dropped the register of her voice and slowed down her speech so each word flowed into the next like water. Come to think of it, her movements were slower now too. They were more deliberate, deadly. Everything about Allura in her Wraith form now appeared to be calculated. It was disturbing and Shiro had to pause and catch his breath when he felt the sudden, almost overwhelming desire to run.

 _Threat!_ his senses screamed at him. _Enemy! Hunter! Threat!_

He could feel the tiny hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as he fought back a shiver. His legs, however, tingled with the sudden surge of adrenaline, fueling his fight or flight instinct. Intellectually, he knew this wasn't a real Wraith; this was Allura shifted into the form of a Wraith. He had never even _seen_ a real Wraith in person before. But something told him, his body and instincts would recognize one instantly and force him to react. Thus, while Allura was not a true Wraith, her shift was well done enough to elicit the same instinctual reaction that a true Wraith would.

The trader, however, seemed unaffected by Allura's air and spoke in a calm, even voice. "What do you have to trade?" they asked.

"Nothing much," she replied easily. "Just relics of an era long past."

The trader's eyes narrowed, their interest caught. "We see," they said. "Perhaps we can come to an agreement on something."

Allura tilted her head forward gracefully. "Perhaps we can," she purred.

Well, this was definitely going to be…different. Shiro heaved a sigh and followed Allura and the trader to a small alcove in the back. This must be where the official trade itself took place. All it needed was an old style cash register and it would have been something from Earth. Shiro almost snickered at the thought.

"What do you have to offer?" the trader asked.

Allura lifted her bag and placed it on the table the trader stood by. "Place the clothes on the table, child," she said.

It took the black paladin a moment to realize the princess had been talking to him. He quickly put the clothes on the table next to Allura's bag and stepped back, waiting for another command.

Allura reached into the bag, pulled out the items within, and laid them out on the table. Shiro did not recognize a couple items, but he did know jewelry when he saw it. Last to be pulled out was a small bottle of Kadesh which Shiro remembered Allura using to trade for Lance's cybernetic eye.

The trader noticed the bottle of Kadesh, eyeing it with obvious interest before studying the other items. However, they said nothing, merely waited for Allura to make the first move. Shiro looked at his princess and watched her nudge two jewels of sparkling quality and one of the items Shiro didn't recognize.

The trader gave no indication of approval or rejection. They gazed down at the offering with no observable emotion and pushed the unknown object back, pulling the bottle of Kadesh forward to join the offered jewels. Allura place a sharp fingernail on the brightest jewel with gleamed a pure white in color and pulled it back towards her. Again, the trader gave no outward sign of annoyance or any emotion at all. They pulled the white jewel back towards them and pushed back the other two; and act which Allura quickly reversed.

However, after pausing for a few seconds, she pulled the Kadesh back to her and pushed the white jewel forward. Without removing his gaze from the table, the trader reached out and removed one of the regular shirts and long shirt from the pile of clothes. Allura must have seen the move, but she did not visibly acknowledge it. Instead, she pulled the white jewel back and pushed the Kadesh forward. One of the regular shirts was returned to the pile but a pair of pants was removed.

Allura hummed and stepped back from the table. The trader lifted their blank gaze and nodded. "We have a deal," they said.

The picked up the two lesser jewels and the bottle of Kadesh and turned to a shielded object behind them. They placed their hand against what Shiro realized was an opaque particle barrier and the shield vanished revealing several shelves. Objects of varying sizes, purposes, and colors filled the shelves. There were even a few flowers in there as well. The trader placed the Kadesh and the jewels between a plant with strange looking orange flowers and raised the particle barrier once more.

"We have never seen a Wraith Queen wander far from her hive alone," the trader said.

Allura nodded in acquiescence. "It does not happen often," she admitted, sounding unbothered by the fact. "My hive is small as is my territory. The drones are keeping watch on my children." She smiled, her yellow teeth, sharp as razors flashing in the filtered light. "Besides," she added, walking her fingers along the Shiro shoulder in what the black paladin could only call a creepy manner, "I am not alone. I have a loyal guard with me."

The trader turned their strange gaze to Shiro, silently observing him. For a split second, Shiro caught the faintest flicker of emotion before it was smothered by the trader's usual mask of calm.

"The Champion?" they asked. "You have allied with the Galra?"

Allura hissed in displeasure. "I have not," she said. "He left the Galra and came to my hive." Again, she grinned. "Who was I to turn down such a prize?" Her long, deathly pale fingers gripped the black paladin's armored shoulder firmly. "Especially when taking him with me allows my drones to protect my children from other hives."

"A sound decision," the trader said. "May your stay here be productive."

Then the trader turned and strode away from them, completely ignoring their presence.

"That was weird," Shiro said mildly.

"Plethars are not known for their expressive emotions," Allura said. "They only speak when they have to. They are almost completely deaf and rely mostly on their sense of smell and sight to get around. However, they are very shrewd traders." She almost glanced back over her shoulder, catching herself at the last moment. "Although that was a fair trade, I can't help but feel shorted."

Shiro had no answer to that. He did have a rather pressing question, though. "Um." Oh, yes, Shiro. Great start. Very intelligent. "How many bottles of that, um, contraceptive stuff-"

"Kadesh?" Allura asked easily.

"Y-yeah," Shiro stuttered awkwardly, hefting the pile of clothes in his arms. "How much of that do you have?"

Allura shrugged. "At least ten," she said casually, smirking when the black paladin suddenly stumbled next to her. "The Castle was my and my father's main means of travel when we would embark on diplomatic and exploratory missions," she explained. "We rarely went alone, of course. There were always several other who would come along for the ride. At least one or two of those individuals were adept at the art of sensual persuasion."

Color burst into Shiro's cheeks. "Uh, you mean prostitution?" he gasped, his voice reaching a higher register that was less than natural.

Allura shot a judgmental look at her companion. "Hardly," she said. "I believe the common word was courtesan," she clarified. "Their skills were useful in the field of diplomacy. It was not something to be disregarded. Many treaties were signed and disagreements eased from the actions of a skilled courtesan."

"Ah."

There wasn't much else Shiro could say to that. He wasn't sure how he felt about the whole idea of using one's body in that way to get what they wanted. It felt like doing so cheapened the person. But then, it wasn't his body so it wasn't his place to judge. He simply knew that he would never be able to do that.

"I take it that occupation is not widely accepted on your planet," Allura said, catching her paladin's discomfort.

Shiro sighed. "Not really, no," he said. "It really depends on who you ask. But on the whole, no, not really."

"I see." She focused on the path ahead of her. "Let's return our things to the pod and decide what to do from there. Maybe Pidge and Hunk were able to get something from Sendak's memories. I'm sure Coran would be proud of that."

Shiro nodded. "I'll contact Keith and ask where he parked the pod," he said.

"Good idea."

* * *

The Mistro was a large tower that was actually three separate spires joined in the center by a glass and steel atrium. The design of a mix of lots of cultures and engineering styles that somehow didn't clash as much as Keithek thought they should. In fact, the designs seemed to flow smoothly from one spire to the next. He followed Nyma through one of the three main entrances accessed by the larger skypaths. There were several smaller skypaths that branched off from the main routes that looped around The Mistro, probably for employees and escape exits in case of an emergency. Or, Keithek though wryly, to conduct less than legal trades outside of the public eye.

The moment Keithek entered the atrium of The Mistro, he was impressed. The glass and steel structure towered above him so high he could barely make out the glass roof. There were several small lifts connected to the spires that carried guests up and down the different levels. From the looks of it, each tower was an individual hotel.

There were a few small skypaths that extended from the spires to meet a circular skypath allowing guests to travel from spire to spire without having to ride a lift all the way to the ground floor, get on another lift, and ride up to a different floor. The circular skypaths allowed the guests to move about freely while also allowing the patrons at the base of the atrium to have an unobstructed view of the incredibly high ceiling.

Everything was opulent and extravagant. Not to the point of being gaudy, but enough to impress and flaunt. Clearly anyone who stayed in The Mistro was well off in some respect. The Mistro followed the usual pattern of housing adopted by most planets in the Galra Empire and those planets not yet a part of the empire but allied with it or left alone for one reason or another, then the richer the patron, the higher level they lived on. The top several floors of each spire were always permanent or semi-permanent residences with the richest occupant at the very top level. All or most of the floors below were rented out to guests with enough money to afford them.

The reservation desk for each spire hotel was located near that particular spire's lift. Some of the employees were androids, but the majority were living people. If Keithek had to guess, he'd bet his soldier's salary that these employees were well paid. They probably made more money than Keithek had, honestly.

He stumbled to a stop when Nyma stopped abruptly in front of him. He lowered his eyes and flushed when he noticed the trader's smirk. She had caught him ogling like a foolish tourist. He rolled his eyes and took some pleasure in the fact that Lance was just as bad as he was, if not worse. The prince had wander out a bit further from Nyma and Keithek so she stood directly underneath the center of the atrium. Her cybernetic and organic eyes were focused on the glass ceiling far above and her mouth hung slightly open in awe.

"Lance," Keithek called, startling his mate.

Lance jerked her gaze back to Keithek and hurried back to rejoin their little group.

"Amazing, isn't it?" a jovial new voice said.

Keithek turned in surprise to see Rolo standing next to Nyma, chewing on a twig as usual and grinning.

"Glad to see you made it," Rolo said, looking between the three people. However, when his eyes settled on Lance, he frowned in confusion. "Who's this?" he asked.

Lance leaned her weight on one leg, propped her hand on her hip, and gave Rolo a flat stare. "Really, Rolo?" she said, a slow smile worming its way across her face when the male trader's mouth dropped open in shock. "Only a turn since we last spoke and you've already forgotten?" She dramatically placed her free hand over her chest, directly between her breasts. "I'm hurt."

"Lance?" Rolo cried. Immediately, he slammed his mouth shut and looked around to be sure his outburst hadn't drawn too much unwanted attention. "Lance?" he repeated in a softer voice. "Is that… Is that you?"

"What do you think?" Lance teased. "A little change in hair color, a couple extra weights," she flicked her breasts casually, "and you suddenly don't recognize me?"

"Uh…" Rolo ran his eyes up and down Lance's currently blonde, female form and shook his head. "I… I did not expect that."

The prince shrugged. "My people can change our forms at will," she said. "It's all superficial though, strictly topical. Anything deeper is beyond us. Changing our very being at the core would require going against our nature and any Druid would tell you that's impossible."

Rolo nodded slowly, obviously still trying to process this. He looked at Nyma through the corner of his eye. "You knew?" he asked.

"Nope," she chirped, popping the 'p' sound with her lips. "I found out when I saw him."

"And you didn't bother to drop me a hint?" he demanded, slightly hurt.

The Teiidae snorted. "And miss that priceless look of shock on your face two ticks ago? Are you kidding me? I'll treasure that expression for years."

"Oh, by the…" Rolo bit off his words with a groan of mild annoyance that was more play than serious. "Okay, whatever. Keith?" he said, dropping a hand on the red paladin's shoulder. "You're with me. We're going to meet with Merla. You got him- er, her?" he asked Nyma, awkwardly pointing to a still female Lance who snickered.

"Oh yes," Nyma said. "We're going to grab a few drinks and talk."

Rolo's face froze. "Oh quiznak. I'm out. Keith, come along."

Keithek flailed for a moment when he was suddenly yanked by Rolo, stumbling to keep up. He looked back over his shoulder just in time to catch Lance throw him a reassuring smile. This was it, he thought. Hopefully, this Merla person wouldn't be as bad as she'd been made out to be.

* * *

"So, I heard drinks," Lance said, turning her gaze to Nyma. "Alcoholic or no?"

"Oh, always alcoholic," Nyma said, looping her arm through Lance's. "This way, pretty lady. I know a guy who can make a mean Redshift Nova."

"A Redshift Nova?" Lance repeated with a smile. "And why would this supposedly fabulous drink be called a Redshift Nova?"

"Because the drink has a habit of being clear to appearing incapable of seeing infrared light," she said conspiratorially, leaning close to Lance's ear. "It's a hit among Teiidae."

"I can see why," Lance said, grinning. "And the 'Nova' part?"

"Mm. Because it has an explosive aftertaste that's to die for," she said proudly.

"Oh really?" Lance said. "I'll reserve judgment until I taste this Redshift Nova then."

Nyma rolled her shoulders and tilted her head at him teasingly before walking towards a nice lounge that took up several of the lower floor of the spire directly across from them. A glowing sign adorned the wall directly above the lounge's main entrance declaring it Den Resistance. This could be fun.


	96. PART 4 - 96: Language Barrier

**A/N:** This was something I felt was overdue to address but couldn't be addressed until now due to plot and character/relationship growth. Things will get physical in here so if talk about body parts bothers you, sorry. I wasn't able to slip any surprise traps in here like I originally intended to because this chapter is much longer than most of my chapters.

All I can is this: remember that Alteans, Teiidae, Galra, etc, are not Humans and are therefore not bound by Human culture/cultural norms. What is considered normal and acceptable in their society may not be normal or acceptable to us. Please remember that when you read this. Otherwise, enjoy~ **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Lance and Nyma talk over drinks and when things get physical, literally, they learn that translators don't always translate well. **  
**

* * *

 **96: Language Barrier**

Lance scrunched her face and forced herself to swallow, coughing when the drink finally left her tongue. She was almost offended by Nyma's hysterical laughter. Lance slapped the cup back onto the counter and took a moment to catch her breath.

"It's nice," she gasped, her voice hoarse.

Nyma smacked Lance's back and continue to cackle madly at the Altean's expense. "Wow," she crowed. "That was probably the best reaction to that drink I've ever seen in my life." She snorted and tumbled back into uncontrollable laughter. "I'll remember that forever."

"You're cruel," Lance said, promptly coughing.

"Alright, alright," Nyma said, taking the sample cup from in front of her companion and handing it back to the amused bartender. "Redshift Nova, please," she requested with a smile.

"That wasn't a Redshift Nova?" Lance asked, pointing to the bartender's retreating back.

"Frell no," Nyma exclaimed, waving dismissively in Lance's direction. "That was just a little something to knock you on your smeg."

Lance rolled her eyes. "Gee, thanks," she drawled.

When a new drink was placed on the bar in front of her, she eyed it suspiciously. Then her right eye adjusted its vision to accommodate the infrared spectrum and the drink glowed. It was a bit odd seeing the drink both clear and red at the same time so she forced the cybernetic eye to return to the visible spectrum.

"I take it _this_ is the mysterious Redshift Nova?" she asked, pointing to the glass.

Nyma nodded and wrapped her fingers around the glass's slender stem. The part of the glass that held the drink was shaped like a funnel with a crystalized substance covering the rim. Lance tasted it warily with her tongue and her eyebrows lifted in genuine surprise.

"Sugar?" she asked.

Nyma lifted an eyebrow and gave her a flat stare. "Just sugar?" she asked.

Lance hesitated before pressing her lips to the rim of the glass and titling it so the clear liquid flowed into her mouth, washing over the crystalized sugar as it did so. She hummed in pleasure. Then she swallowed and the aftertaste kicked in.

"By the Lions!" she cried, licking her lips.

"Good, isn't it?" Nyma asked, taking a long swallow of her own drink. "I love it so much and this place," she gestured to the lounge around them, "makes the best Redshift Novas in the universe."

"In your oh-so-humble opinion?" Lance teased.

"Oh naturally," the trader replied, smiling proudly. She took another drink then hummed. "So, I have to ask. I assume you could always shapeshift because that isn't doesn't seem like that something that can be learned, but of all things why a Human? Or at least," she studied Lance's currently form closely, "I think you're Human."

"I am, yes," Lance said. "I saw quite a few when I visited the Humans' home planet."

"So why a Human?" Nyma asked. "Why not Teiidae or even a Galra halfbreed like your mate? Those forms would have been much less conspicuous. You do realize your friends are the first and only Humans I've ever seen before. Although," Nyma smirked, "if this is what Humans look like, I'm not complaining."

Lance grinned and raised her glass to Nyma with a wink. "Human females anyway," she corrected.

"Human _and_ female?" Nyma said. She hummed and sipped her drink. "You just became much more attractive."

Lance snorted. "I didn't do it for you," she said. "I like being female. It's comfortable."

"So you changed in a female for comfort?" Nyma asked.

"No. I changed because today, right now, I am female," Lance said. She set her glass down and traced her finger along the glass rim, her lips pressed together in a thin line. "Alteans were… We…" She sighed and slumped. "This wasn't as easy as I thought it would be," she muttered.

"I'm not judging, you know," Nyma said, sipping her drink. "I've been around, I've seen a lot, I've _done_ a lot. With the exception of a few individuals who I will not name because of current circumstances, I don't think I really have the right to judge others because of cultural differences."

That startled a laugh from Lance. "In that case," she crossed her legs and turned to face Nyma directly. "You know that Allura is female and I am male. What if I told you that that's technically not true?"

Nyma lifted an eyebrow and shifted in her seat. She leaned towards Lance with an eager expression on her face, still holding her glass in her hand. "Ooh, this should be interesting," she said.

"I appear female because right now I see myself as female," Lance said. "Allura appears female because she sees herself as female. We change our forms to match what we are in our minds, not the other way around. Well," she corrected, "not _usually_ the other way around."

"Example?" Nyma asked, her lidless blue eyes sparkling with interest.

Lance shrugged. "When I shifted, I could have kept my form in what is generally considered to be a male bipedal form. But I didn't because I don't feel like a male right now."

Nyma hummed thoughtfully. "Feel as in physical feel or…?"

Lance sighed. "This is difficult," she mumbled. "Gender is not something that was ever…" She gestured uselessly with her hand. "For us, gender was not something that was really an issue," she said finally. "We shifted our forms to suit what we felt like in the sense of identity. I can't just willingly take on a female form unless I currently identify as female."

"But you just said gender wasn't an issue?" Nyma asked in confusion.

"It wasn't, really," Lance said. "The Altean language did not have gender specific identifier words until more and more people from other planets came and we integrated some of their words into our language. It helped them understand us and, in a way, helped us understand them. Most races in the universe have a specific set of genders that they typically adhere to. We don't. We can change our forms to what other races see to be different genders, but to us it's merely an expression of who we are."

"Huh." Nyma sat back and studied Lance curiously over the rim of her glass. "So this form you're currently wearing isn't really-"

"It is female in the Human sense, yes," Lance said. "And I do currently identify as a female but-"

"You're using the same word there," Nyma said. "Was that deliberate or not?"

Lance huffed. Then she sat up and held up a finger to silently ask Nyma to wait while her other hand reached up and touched something behind her left ear. She shook her heard briefly before speaking.

 _"Sava,"_ she said, pointing to herself. _"Sava,"_ she said again, pointing to Nyma. _"Sava."_ She pointed to the bartender. _"Sava."_ She pointed to another lounge guest sitting across the room. Then she turned back to Nyma. _"Savi,"_ she said, this time gesturing to everyone in the room. Then she made a gesture that seemed to imply a young person or a child and said, _"Sava-vae."_ Next she used her hands to indicate many children and said, _"Savi-vae."_

Nyma furrowed her brown and waited for Lance to turn on her translator again. She waited politely while Lance adjusted as the many voices in the lounge began translating in her mind once more before speaking.

"Was that Altean?" she asked.

"It was yes," Lance said, nodding. "I actually very rarely stop speaking Altean. I can speak Galra, although the dialect I'm most familiar seems to have been relegated being spoken only by the emperor and his closest allies. The rest of them seem to speak a more common dialect that's fairly easy to pick up on when I'm near a Galra with a translator."

"But if a Galra without a translator walked by and spoke Common Galran, you wouldn't be able to understand them," Nyma said. She took a sip of drink. "Interesting. Since most people use the latest translator earpieces, we all tend to understand each other." She pursed her lips and shook her head. "We almost don't even have to bother learning other languages anymore because the translators work so well."

"Yes, but what if they failed?" Lance asked, sipping her own drink. She winced at the aftertaste but continued speaking. "If your translator failed, I wouldn't understand you and I highly doubt you would understand me."

"True." Nyma grinned. "But I don't really need to understand you, do I?" she teased. "I think drunk people all have a common language."

Lance laughed. "I'm not drunk," she said.

"Not yet," Nyma agreed pulling another laugh from Lance. "So, those words you used, what did they mean?"

Lance hesitated. "Let me see. I'm going to try saying them again with my translator on and tell me if you hear the same words."

"Go ahead."

"Me," Lance said, pointing to herself. "You." She pointed to Nyma. "Hi-"

"Stop," Nyma said abruptly, holding up a hand. "I'm not hearing the same words." She watched Lance slump in defeat. "Want to try to explain without using those words?" she asked.

The prince shrugged. "I'll try," she said. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. "The first word I said in Altean means 'person.'" She lifted a shoulder in a half shrug. "Kind of. It can also mean me, you, mine, yours; you understand. The second word is the plural of the first. It generally means us, we, they," she waved her hand to indicate so-on. "The third word essentially means little person, young person, or child. The last word is the plural of the third word. It means little people, young people, or children. Those last two words are reserved for children only. Once a child reaches the age of majority, those words can no longer be used unless referring to a child of a parent. Otherwise, it's considered an insult."

"Huh," Nyma said thoughtfully. "Are those your only indicator words for people or pronouns if you will?"

"In Altean? Yes," Lance said. "We don't use words like 'him,' or 'her.' It was always just the words I said before."

"Which have no implied gender attached to them," Nyma said.

"Correct. You see." She paused and chuckled suddenly. "I'm beginning to sound like Coran." Nyma snorted and Lance continued. "According to our history books, before Alteans made contact with a race from another world, we never had words for different genders because we did not see the use for them. A person was a person and a child was a child. How each person or child chose to appear or perceive themselves was up to them."

"But after making contact, you realized other races perceived a gender difference," Nyma said, nodding. "So your people adopted the indicator words the other races used for clarification?"

"In a way, yes," Lance said. "Technically, we only ever used them when speaking to other races. They weren't used between Alteans. I've never referred to myself with any word other than the first one I used when I spoke Altean to you earlier. But that word is probably unfamiliar to your translator so it's using the mental implications of the word to something you can easily understand."

"So 'she,'" Nyma said. "Why can't it just use 'she?'"

Lance smirked. "I'm guessing you tried to say the Altean word just now," she said sympathetically.

"Um, yes. Why? Is that not what you heard?" Nyma asked in confusion.

"No," Lance confirmed. "I heard you say 'she.'"

"But that's not what I… Huh." Nyma licked her lips, set her drink down on the bar, and crossed her arms as she pondered this little puzzle. "Normally I can use words from other languages without my translator changing them."

"It's probably not working now because the Altean language is considered a dead language," Lance said with a sad smile. "Why upload a dead language into a translator intended for commercial use when there are so many other, more commonly spoken languages like Common Galran to understand?"

Nyma grimaced. "Point taken," she said. "The Humans with you though. Do they have the common translators or Altean translators?"

"Altean," the prince said. "Shiro has the common translator though from his time as the Champion."

"Ah," Nyma said, nodding. "That makes sense. Then Shiro aside, do the others hear the Altean words you use?"

"I doubt it," Lance said, sipping his drink. "The translators themselves may be Altean but they were designed to work differently from their modern counterparts. They 'listen' to the words being spoken and translate the thought behind it less so than the exact wording."

"What do you mean?"

The prince thought for a moment. "This," she pointed to her glass, "is my drink. I'm saying this in the dialect of Galran I'm familiar with, by the way, so your translator doesn't try to change my words too much. If I said it in Altean, it would be something more along the lines of, 'This is the drink of person-Lance.'" She snickered. "That sounds so odd in Galran."

"You were speaking in Galran?" Nyma asked. "The whole time?"

Lance nodded as she took another drink. "Yes," she said.

Nyma snorted. "Person-Lance."

Lance rolled her eyes but smiled too. "Like I said, we don't perceive gender like other races. On that note, we're also all born with the reproductive organs of both the sexual male and the sexual female like a flower, but w-"

"Wait, what?" Nyma cried. "Really?" She smiled broadly. "So realistically you could get pregnant?"

"No, I can't," Lance said. "Even though all Alteans have the ability to be both the sexual male or sexual female in a relationship, that doesn't mean all of the individual parts are the same. For example, and Al-" She cleared her throat. "My sister wi-"

"Wait, that word. 'Sister.' How would you say that in Altean?" Nyma asked.

"Person-sibling of person-Lance," the prince said, trying to bite back a smile.

The trader snickered. "That's a mouthful," she said.

"It is compared to other languages, I guess," Lance agreed. "But it works for us. As I was saying though, my sister has the capability to be both the sexual male and sexual female partner in a relationship."

Nyma's grin darkened. "Does that 'person-Shiro' know?" she teased.

Lance gave her a look. "What do you think?" she said. "I don't know how Human sexuality works, but I can guess from observing that they each typically only have one half of the sexual reproductive organs: male or female. Although, I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few Humans who had both."

"Like you do?" Nyma said, lifting her glass to Lance who smiled and raised hers in return.

"Like I do, yes," she agreed. "Like all Alteans do." She drank some more, grimacing at the aftertaste as usual. "My sister is currently in what appears to be a female form because she identifies with that part of herself the most at the moment. I've only ever seen her shift to a more masculine appearance once or twice. Aldrun, my older brother, settled for a more masculine appearance because he liked it best. He said he felt like it belonged to him. He never took any female form after that."

Nyma nodded and hummed impatiently. "Right, right. Back to the part about Allura having man sex parts," she said eagerly. "Are you serious?"

"Oh definitely," Lance said, with a wink. "She'll kill me if she found out I told you, but she does."

"So she can both get pregnant and impregnate," Nyma said. "Nice. So why can't you get pregnant? You have both sexual parts too, right?"

"I do, but…" She shrugged and finished her drink. "My female sexual organs are underdeveloped. It happens sometimes. It's a genetic defect that occurs every now and then. Mother had it and we were beginning to suspect Alwida had it to, but we couldn't know for sure until she reached the age of majority."

"She?" Nyma asked. "I'm assuming your age of majority is the equivalent to Teiidae's puberty. So I understand waiting to be sure she's of age to start actually growing things before checking for abnormalities. But 'she?'"

Lance tilted her head in what wasn't quite an agreement but not a disagreement either. "She may not have been of age of majority or," he gestured to Nyma, "puberty, but she tended to prefer the thought of being a mother over not. Also, I'm not actually saying 'she.' I'm saying," he paused, presumably to switch languages though Nyma couldn't hear a difference, "'younger-person-sibling-Alwida of person-Lance.'"

"But the translator says 'she,'" Nyma said. "Okay. So your big sister can bang the Champion just as much as he can bang her. I like this. But your female sexual organs are underdeveloped so you can't get pregnant?" she asked to be sure she fully understood.

When Lance nodded, Nyma drained the rest of her drink, smacking her lips in pleasure. She waved the bartender over and ordered both of them seconds, smiling when the bartender mixed and served them two fresh Redshift Novas.

"Getting pregnant isn't the be all, end all, you know," Nyma said, taking a sip of her fresh drink. "You still have a vagina or something like that, don't you?"

Lance nodded but grimaced. "Yes," she said carefully, "but it's too small for use. I should know. I tried putting my finger in there once. Never again. It was too painful. I couldn't get my fingertip in. But, since I never really wanted to be a mother in the first place, it never bothered me much."

"Two things," Nyma said, holding up two fingers. "First, I bet it did bother you. Second, how do you say 'mother' in Altean?"

"Birthgiver-person of person-Lance," the prince said, smiled. Then her smile faded. "And yes, it did bother me when I first found out about the problem," she admitted. "But it doesn't bother me much now."

"Is that why you usually appear male?" Nyma asked.

"Sort of," Lance said. "My genitalia have little to do with who I am so much as who I am has to do with my physical appearance. Because I see myself as a person I do-"

"'Person' here means the Altean person word, right?" Nyma asked.

"Yes. Because I see myself as that," Lance picked up her fresh glass and raised it to Nyma, "I don't feel like I've changed much. From my perspective, I've just decided I feel more comfortable as what you would call a female. Also, I'm sure you've noticed that my breasts aren't very big." She flicked one of her breasts.

"I did notice," Nyma said. "But that's common in many races."

"True," Lance agreed. "But in my case, because my female sexual organs are underdeveloped, it affects most of the secondary female sexual organs I have as well, such as my mammary glands. That's why they're so small when I decide to take this form. They can't create milk like my sister's can."

Nyma clicked her tongue and drank more. "You said your mother had the same genetic issue you do. I'm assuming that since she's," Nyma held up hands and made air quotations, "birthgiver-person of person-Lance, her male sexual organs were underdeveloped."

Lance rolled her eyes and laughed heartily but nodded. "Yes," she said. "That's right." She cleared her throat but the smile didn't go away. "It was commonplace for life partners to switch birthing duties between them. Not everyone felt comfortable with the idea of being the birthgiver-"

"Like you," Nyma interjected.

"-and sometimes none of the life partners in a relationship wanted to take that position," Lance finished, nodding. "But it wasn't looked down on to refuse that position for whatever reason. We courted multiple people at once, we willingly switched birthgiving duties, we changed our forms to suit our preferences for what felt right at the time, and we held festivals that are probably what made us so infamous in this day and age," she added with a chuckle.

"You mean those sex orgy parties?" Nyma asked wryly. "Not judging. I almost wish I could have joined."

"You could attend, but unless you were the age of majority, you couldn't get involved in the more adventurous activities." Nyma snorted and Lance smirked. "You also couldn't touch the juice or anything that even remotely looked like the juniberry unless you had a death wish."

Lance swallowed a mouthful of the Redshift Nova and shook her head at the biting aftertaste. "But if you did go," she said, "and you were at least the age of majority, then you could join in on the fun. You could mount or be mounted or do both or do neither. Not that we'd notice," Lance said with a wry grin. "By the end of the first night, most of us were too inebriated to think of much else."

"Does Keith know about this?" Nyma asked. "I think he might enjoy it."

"He might," Lance agreed. "But seeing as, all things considered, the festival is a thing of the past, I'm not sure it really matters anymore."

"It matters to you," the trader said pointedly.

Lance shrugged. "Yes," she said softly. "But I'm fine with the way things are. At least," she corrected, "I will be when I finally get the juniberry back in my system. Then I'll feel more myself and I may even be able to participate next time I take Keith to bed."

"Whatever, lover-person-Lance," Nyma teased earning her a playful nudge from the prince. "So," Nyma continued, "do you feel like this is who you are?" She gesturing to all of Lance's current form.

"Yes. Well," Lance looked down at herself. "Everything but the Human appearance anyway. That's a bit odd. But it's close enough to Altean that it doesn't feel too weird. I bet my sister is feeling some discomfort right about now though," she said, snickering.

"Should I keep calling your sister 'princess' then?" the trader asked.

Lance smiled. "As long as she doesn't correct you," she said, "then yes. If she feels like that isn't the title for her, then she'll tell you and specify what you should call her instead. But I doubt she will. She introduced herself so she chose that title."

"Then I have to keep calling you 'prince?'" the trader groaned dramatically.

"Yes," Lance said, "you still do. It's essentially the equivalent to our royal title."

"Even with the implied gender attached to it?" Nyma pressed.

"Well, it's better than the Altean equivalent which is a mouthful," Lance said.

The trader grinned. "Care to share?"

"Leader-person-child of leader-person,'" Lance said, hiding her smile behind her glass, draining it dry. "I may need to be more drunk if this conversation is going to continue like this," she said.

"I'm not opposed to that," Nyma said. She waved the bartender over and had their drinks refilled a second time. They had so much more to talk about.


	97. PART 4 - 97: Juniberry

**A/N:** Sorry I haven't updated the past weekend. I've been slaving over my thesis proposal. The rough draft for the intro is "due" this Friday. I say "due" because that's when I'm going to give it to my thesis advisor for him to look over and let me know if I'm on the right track. It's stressful and the thesis proposal has been fighting me every step of the way. So I took today off and wrote this chapter instead. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Keithek finally gets his hands on the juniberry plant but both he and Merla get more than they bargained for in the process. **  
**

* * *

 **97: Juniberry**

Keithek shifted nervously as the lift rose above The Mistro's atrium floor. He watched his mate retreat arm in arm into one of the high class lounges on the lower floors of the tower directly across from the one he and Rolo were going to enter. The lift slowed at what Keithek believe was possibly the eighty-sixth or eighty-eighth floor. Honestly, he'd lost count of the floors, finding more interest in the people crossing the skypaths connecting the spires of The Mistro. At one point, he even thought he saw his father, but that was ridiculous. His father was probably still will that slimy Commander Prorok.

When Rolo stepped off the lift, Keithek followed. The clear, durable material lined the walkway topped by a platinum covered bar acting as a railing. It was strong enough for gusts to lean against while still providing an eye-catching view of The Mistro and all within it. It was slightly difficult for Keithek to keep his eyes on Rolo's back because the view was so distracting.

"Here."

Rolo's voice startled Keithek out of his musings, jerking his attention back to the trader. Rolo knocked on one of the few doors on this level. That was another thing Keithek noticed. The higher the floor, the fewer doors lined the walkway. Out of curiosity, Keithek leaned over the railing and looked up at the higher floors. Starting about five floors up, next ten or so floors no longer had open walkways. They were walled by a durable material that was nigh on impossible to see through from this side. But Keithek would bet it was easy to see out of the material from inside. The higher floors were too hard to make out from this vantage point.

Then his observations cut to an abrupt halt when someone, probably Rolo, grabbed his arm and yanked him into the room. Flustered, Keithek stumbled into the room and quickly righted himself.

"Well, he certainly has energy."

Keithek stiffened and focused his attention on the woman in front of him. Her hair was long, perfectly straight, and a deep, deep red. If Keithek hadn't known better, he would swear she had dyed her hair with blood. Her lips were the same deep shade of carmine as her hair. Her skin was a faint mauve that was lighter than Keithek's skin but with no trace of the extra fur or scales typical of the Galran race. Her eyes were a molten gold sliced directly through the middle by a black pupil that was currently wide and studying Keithek closely.

This had to be Merla. The way she held herself spoke volumes of her confidence. This was her layer, temporary though it may be. Here, in this room, she was in charge. Keithek felt his ears flick forwards, twitching with every sound while he tried to make sense of the smells he was picking up as well. There was something exotic that was subtle but too strong to go unnoticed. It was not sweet like sugar so much as sweet like a flower. There was an earthen smell in the room too.

But none of it was stronger than whatever scent Merla herself had on. It was shockingly enticing which was confusing to Keithek because he had only ever found Lance's scent naturally enticing. The memory of Lance standing in his room, lit by the Balmeran aurora borealis from his view screens, filled his mind. Lance's scent always seemed to intensify when Keithek looked at him. Even as she was now, Lance's scent intensified when she caught Keithek's gaze on her.

He blinked and whatever labyrinth his mind had gotten lost in suddenly vanished slamming him back in Merla's room so abruptly he wobbled. Rolo caught his arm when his knees suddenly gave out beneath him preventing him from crumbling to the floor.

"That's enough, Merla," Rolo said in a stern voice.

Keithek shook his head trying to clear it of the murky clouds that seemed to fill it like cotton.

"So your mate is an Altean," Merla purred, completely ignoring Rolo's command. She leaned down and pinched Keithek's chin between her pale purple fingers, holding his face still so she could stare directly into his eyes. "And a pureblood at that." She hummed and tilted her head with a sly grin. "What a rarity in this day and age," she said, releasing Keithek and straightening.

"Was that necessary?" Rolo demanded, hauling Keithek up.

The red paladin blinked for another couple ticks before forcing himself to focus on Merla's now retreating form. Her black clothes hugged her form in what Keithek supposed would be pleasing to most people. Feathers of a dark green, red, and black extended from her right shoulder only leaving her left shoulder bare.

A hoarse caw startled Keithek. His violet and gold eyes darted over to a nearby couch in shock. Perched comfortable on the black of the furniture was a microraptor that eyed Keithek and Rolo with wide, suspicious eyes that the red paladin doubted missed much.

"It was necessary," Merla said, drawing Keithek's attention back to her. "I wanted to know why your little client was so interested in my wares. It's not often you come to me for anything, after all," she said, tossing Rolo a dark smile over her shoulder. "I was curious."

"Curiosity will be the end of you," Rolo warned.

"And yet without curiosity, none of us would be here," Keithek said with a shrug, rolling his shoulders in satisfaction when they popped. "Speaking of curiosity, what did you do to me?"

Merla grinned and waved Keithek and Rolo over to her. "Come over here and I'll tell you," she said. "Maybe."

Rolo huffed but Keithek strode over to one of the two chairs positioned opposite the couch Merla sat on, her microraptor still perched on the couch back behind her. Rolo eventually joined them, taking a seat in the remaining chair next to Keithek.

"I looked into your mind," Merla said without prelude. "I was curious to know why someone like you wanted the juniberry plant so bad." Her golden eyes shifted to Rolo with amusement. "Your friend here is so squeaky clean as far s the drug trade is concerned that I was beginning to wonder if he just didn't like me."

She stuck her lower lip out in a dramatic pout that had Rolo scoffing. She merely chuckled and crossed her legs and leaned back into the cushion, completely relaxed.

"You have telepathy?" Keithek asked with interest. "You can talk to other people through their minds?"

"Yes," Merla said, nodding. "Well, that and other things." She examined her fingernails, picking one, flicking something away before tapping her cheek thoughtfully. "If you want to know more, you'll have to pay me."

Keithek nodded. "Understood," he said. "But considering I are more about the juniberry plant than your mental capabilities, as I'm sure you would know if you truly can read my thoughts, then you'll understand why I would rather satisfy my curiosity on that subject for later."

Merla's eyebrows lifted almost to her hairline and a smile stretched across her lovely face in pleasant surprise. "Well, well. Someone is very well spoken," she said. "Drinks?" she suggested, uncrossing her legs and standing. "Then we can start the trade."

"I'd rather do this sober," Rolo said firmly.

"Since you're not really the one I'm trading with, I don't particularly care about you," Merla said.

Keithek sat up to watch the woman reach for a bottle of something and pour its contents into to fine goblets. The plucked both up by the slender stems and strolled back to the lounge area where Keithek and Rolo still sat. She handed on goblet to Keithek, taking a sip of her own pointedly before turning around and taking a seat on her couch. Satisfied she hadn't drugged his drink, Keithek tasted the liquid.

He licked his lips at the unexpected taste. "It's good," he said. "What is this?"

She hummed, pleased. "Fine Polluxian wine," she said proudly. "I have more bottles than I know what to do with. I have a very reliable source, you see. In exchange for my services, I get all the Polluxian wine I want." She winked at the red paladin and sipped her drink. "Now," she said, "I understand you want the juniberry plant."

"Yes," Keithek said when he realized Merla was waiting for him to answer aloud.

"But not for recreational use, if you know what I mean," she said, with a smirk. "And not even for yourself." She sipped her drink and leaned forward. "Is there a particular reason?"

Keithek took a deep breath and organized his thoughts. "My mate is a pureblooded Altean, as you now know," he said, nodding to Merla who lifted her glass to him in acknowledgement. "He's… _She's_ sterile without it."

"She?" Merla asked. "A shapeshifter then?" At Keithek's nod, Merla leaned back and tilted her head so her microraptor could play with her hair fondly. "Not many of those in the universe. Not that I've seen, anyway. Does he or she have a specific gender or not?"

"I…" Keithek thought for a moment. "I don't know," he admitted sheepishly. "I never thought to ask. I don't really care what she chooses to look like or what gender she prefers, if she has any at all. She's still my mate."

Merla hummed and sipped her wine. "Blonde hair and pale skin," she said, her eyes still on Keithek. "A clever disguise. Although, I have to ask, what race is she currently taking the form of? I don't recognize it."

"I don't know if I should answer that unless you want to pay for it," Kreithek answered, deliberately taking a sip of his wine and refusing to think of the answer.

Merla barked a laugh. "You're learning," she said proudly. "Good."

Rolo shifted, clearly uncomfortable with this whole situation. Merla completely ignored Rolo's presence which Keithek got the feeling Rolo was entirely fine with. For a moment, the red paladin felt bad for dragging Rolo into this. But if he had to choose, he would do it again in a heartbeat.

"You love her," Merla said, her gaze astute and calculating. She lifted her goblet to her lips but didn't drink it. "Your mate. You live her."

"Completely," Keithek said, meeting Merla's gaze unwaveringly.

He must have passed some test, because Merla smiled. She thunked her foot on the table separating her couch from the chairs Keithek and Rolo sat in and pushed a box across the surface towards the red paladin. It was a metal contraption with a solid base that was held together on all four sides by an opaque particle barrier. The metal at the cube's edges connecting the particle barriers met at the top of the cube at a small activation device with a single button on it.

"Feel free to look it over," she said. "Make sure it's to your liking."

Taking that as permission, Keithek leaned forward and carefully pressed the button at the top of the cube. Instantly, the particle barriers vanished and the metal arms retracted, folding into the base of the cube revealing the merchandise. Keithek could feel Merla's gaze on him but it didn't bother him. It barely even registered at the moment. His attention was wholly on the plant sitting innocently on the cube's base.

It was relatively small. Its roots peeked out here and there through the dirt in the clear pot the plant currently occupied. The stem was a dark green a shade or so lighter than the spiraling vines reaching out from the plant and dangling over the sides of the plant. The leaves were a light green that was the same shade as Pidge's bayard energy blade but nowhere near as visibly dangerous. Three bright, vibrant fuchsia petals were folded up in what looked like a bud. Peeking out from the pink petals was a slim, yellow pistil with three prongs at the top. Three shorter yellow stamens were just barely visible between the petals.

Its scent was sweet and… Keithek tensed. This was the scent he had detected the moment he entered this room. The sweet flowery scent that somehow reminded him of Lance, this was it. Looking at the plant now, even with the flower itself not fully bloomed, Keithek couldn't help but think it was beautiful.

"Do you approve?" Merla asked.

Keithek sat back and nodded. "It's more beautiful than I thought it would be," he said.

Merla grinned. "Good," she said, swishing her wine around delicately in her glass. "Shall we start the trade?"

"I thought we already had," Keithek said, earning him another wide smile from the female trader.

"We have," Merla confirmed. "But it always helps to be polite."

Keithek nodded but didn't speak. He waited for Merla to name her price. He could haggle but not very well. He preferred it if the price was set in stone. It confused him how the same thing could be sold for so many different prices. Because of this, he had developed the habit of letting the more experienced in the trade name a price so he could have a starting point to begin working with.

"Aren't you going to name a price?" Merla asked, smiling at him over the rim of her glass.

Keithek sat back, stunned. He swallowed and lowered his eyes. "I'm actually not very good at trading," he said.

"If you give me permission to trade in your place, I can handle her for you," Rolo said, leaning forward and resting his forearms on his thighs.

Merla shot Rolo a look of open disdain before returning her gaze to Keithek. "Is that what you want?" she asked.

Keithek may not have been looking directly at her, but he could hear the judgement in Merla's voice. "No," he said firmly. "This is my trade." He lifted his head and met Merla's eyes directly. "I don't' have much in the form of physical things, valuable or no," he said. "But I can give you information."

"Information is always useful," Merla said mildly. "Depending on what it is," she added.

That was true. Keithek quickly wracked his brain for anything he could possibly think could be useful to the female trader. He knew she could read his mind, but he highly doubt she would do so during a trade. As he understood the Trader's Code, every trader valued a fair trade. Reading his mind could be seen as cheating, negating the fairness of the trade. Still, it never hurt to be careful.

"Have you heard Sendak is dead?" he asked.

Merla nodded. "Indeed," she said, sipping her wine. "Our great emperor was quite upset from what I heard."

"I killed him."

"Oh, you did, did you?" Merla smiled and held out her goblet as if to ask for more. "How did you, a halfbreed, pull that little stunt off?"

Keithek ignored the jab at his lineage. Merla was obviously a mixed breed herself.

"He nearly killed my mate," Keithek answered simply.

The memory of Lance collapsed on the floor, his blood pooling beneath his head from where his eye had once been, suddenly burst to the forefront of his mind. Merla was doing this, Keithek realized. There was no reason to hide this, so he let her see the memory, even though the emotions that came with it were not pleasant.

The horror that froze him like a more sinister version of the ice welling from Lance's core closed over his heart when he saw in his memory's eyes Sendak crush his mate's eye. Then rage like an eruption volcano blazed through his veins, blinding him to anything but the monster that dared harm his mate. His next clear thought was of plunging his bayard blade into Sendak's chest.

Then images that he didn't remember bled into his mind. Images of people and places he didn't recognize flashed across his mind's eyes. Something nipped at his mind like a raptor pecking at nut. He tried to shake the sensation off but he couldn't. Just as it was beginning to reach the point of pain, two people flashed before his eyes.

Rolo had mentioned Lotor was Merla's biggest customer and that she was here on Meserie to trade with the Galran prince; but seeing Lotor like this was strange. His face was contorted by something. Disgust?

But Lotor's face wasn't what had caught Keithek's attention. He had immediately zeroed in on the face of the Galra soldier standing guard by Prince Lotor. He knew that face. Thace. Father? Father was with Lotor? But Lotor was here. Did that mean his father was here as well?

Since when had his father been promoted to serving directly under Lotor? Or was it promotion at all? It could very well be a demotion. But then, why would Thace be assigned to Lotor at all? Unless he was suspected of treason and espionage. A burst of terror struck him in the chest like a bolt of electricity. He couldn't lose his father. He couldn't…

What would he tell mother?

From deep within his mind, a familiar roar deafened him, singeing the pain and fear from his mind. It soothed his racing thoughts like a balm. He was jumping to conclusions with very little information. Not information at all really so much as raw data. He needed to calm down and think things through. Red's constant heat was like lava, burning away his panic and reassuring him that all was well.

A startled cry jolted him back to the present. When he looked up at Merla, the trader's pupils were wide in her golden eyes. The Red Lion growled in his mind and Keithek realized that the roar had happened now, not then. Red must have sensed her paladin's distress and reacted in his defense, forcing Merla out of his mind.

"I…"

Keithek shut his mouth. He had no reason to apologize for his Lion's actions. Red had reacted in his defense. She wouldn't have done that if she hadn't felt it was necessary. So he held his tongue and waited for Merla to speak. But she wasn't the first to speak.

"Um, what just happened?" Rolo asked, his eyes flickering between Keithek's calm face and Merla's unnerved expression.

"What was that, boy?" Merla demanded fiercely.

"That was my Lion," Keithek replied simply. He dared give a smile of his own. "She doesn't like it when people intrude on my mind."

Merla placed her goblet on the table in front of her and stared directly into Keithek's eyes. "Fascinating," she said. "I've heard of the Lions of Voltron, but I never heard of them actually having a personality. Do they all have personalities?"

"Every one," Keithek answered.

Merla's pupils narrowed to thin slits, dangerous and cunning. _:You saw my thoughts,:_ she said directly into his mind.

"Is that what that was?" Keithek deliberately answered out loud for everyone to hear.

Obviously put out by Keithek's refusal to speak mentally in a private conversation, Merla tilted her head down and glared at the red paladin. Her microraptor hissed and flapped its wings in warning, its feather lifting in an attempt to make itself appear larger than it was.

"What is going on?" Rolo demanded, sounding unnerved.

"How?" Merla snapped angrily.

Keithek met Merla's eyes evenly. "A door once opened, can be entered from both directions," he said. "My mother taught me that."

Merla continued to glare at Keithek for another few ticks before retrieving her goblet and leaning back against the couch to take a slow sip of the wine. She paused, glancing down at her drink before looking up at Keithek once more from beneath dark lashes.

"I accept," she said. "Take the plant and leave."

"Thank you," Keithek said.

He leaned forward and pressed a button on the side of the metal base holding the juniberry plant. The metal arms unfolded from their slots, reforming the cube's skeleton before activating the opaque particle barriers which would protect the plant from unwelcome eyes and contaminants.

He picked up the cube and stood to leave. Rolo didn't hesitate to stand and follow the red paladin towards the door.

"It was a promotion, by the way," Merla said suddenly.

Keithek paused before the door, turning his head to look back over his shoulder where Merla still sat with her back to him on the couch. Her microraptor, however, was staring directly at him with its dark eyes.

"Your mother is also well," she continued, sipping her drink. "Although, I will say, the sooner that older brother of hers keeled over dead, the better."

Keithek narrowed his eyes, absorbing the information. "Thank you," he said before leaving, Rolo on his heels.


	98. PART 4 - 98: First Impressions

**A/N:** And things begin to happen~

Couple quick things. First, I'm basing Allura's new appearance on the Allura from the TV showiVoltron Force/i. Second, the alien Shiro talks to in the beginning of this is a Kaminoan from the iStar Wars: Attack of the Clones/i movie. Meh movie, but great alien species. What can I say? I'm a sucker for the original trilogy. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Shiro leaves an impression, Rolo gets Keith to talk, and both Mandset and Rolo are caught off guard. **  
**

* * *

 **98: First Impressions**

Shiro leaned back against the pod waiting patiently for Allura to finish changing and come out. Most of the people wandering through the landing pads had a specific destination to reach, either on Meserie or of off, so they didn't pay him much mind. But a few did notice him, all he'd had to do was knock on the pod and ask if Allura was done changing clothes. This usually resulted in muffled laughter from his impromptu audience as they went on their way.

He sighed and allowed his body to slump slightly against the metallic surface of the pod. Naturally, that was when the door hissed open. Instantly, Shiro straightened and turned to face the doorway, waiting for the princess to step out. When she did, Shiro had to take a second to reconcile what he was seeing before it finally settled in his mind.

Allura had shed her Wraith form for a more Human appearance. She had returned to her usual height and build which was a relief. Her Wraith form had bothered the black paladin in ways he wasn't sure he could properly explain. Allura's skin was no longer the dark tan from what Shiro liked to think of as her true form, but a pale cream. She had let down her hair from the bun it had been in earlier and changed its color to a bright, sun gold. Her eyes were perhaps a bit darker but it was hard to tell in this light. Honestly, if Shiro hadn't known this was Allura and hadn't seen the pink eye scales that were still present on her face, then he would never have recognized her.

In addition to changing her form, the princess had also changed out of her flight suit, which had admittedly looked odd on her Wraith form, in favor of one of the long shirts she and Shiro had traded for. This shirt was a pale pink that was the same shade as the cherry blossoms Shiro remembered from home. Underneath the dress, the princess had chosen a pair of simple, cream colored pants that were a bit loose, but comfortable looking. She had tied a makeshift belt around her waist made of what looked like a few spare cables from the pod's storage bin.

She flashed the black paladin a smile. "You ready?" she asked.

Shiro looked down at himself and sighed. He had let her talk him into changing his own clothes into the shirt and pants set he'd chosen for himself. They were black and gray and a bit more form fitting than he'd thought they were. None of the clothes had measurements on them so he'd focused on the styles that were designed for people with two arms and legs in the correct physical locations for a Human body. Overall, he liked his outfit.

The only thing that bothered him was that his cybernetic hand was still visible. He hadn't been able to find a pair of gloves to wear. At least his shirt was long sleeved so most of the metal was hidden from view. All he could hope for now was that his face wouldn't be too recognizable. It was a long shot, but it was better than nothing. Also, he didn't stand out from the crowd as much looking like this.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Shiro said.

"Good. Then let's go," Allura said, closing the pod door behind her and walking across the landing platform with Shiro by her side.

"Do you know where this Mistro place is?" Shiro asked curiously, looking around at the tops of the few skyscrapers that rose above the canyon and the main settlement of the Meserie trade post.

"No, but I'll bet it's one of those spires," the princess said, eyeing the buildings as well. "The higher the floor, the more well off the occupant."

"We have buildings like that back home too," Shiro said. "The top floor of some hotels in big cities are sometimes penthouses."

"Penthouses?" Allura asked, tilting her head towards Shiro to indicate she was listening without actually looking at him.

The black paladin nodded. "That's what we call them. They're usually nice and rich people live there. I couldn't afford one on my salary."

Allura snorted. "I doubt I'd want to even when I had the means," she said with a wry smile.

Shiro grimaced. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," she said, giving him a gentle smile. Then her eyes locked on someone over Shiro's shoulder and she stepped around him. "Excuse me," she called, catching the person's attention.

Shiro turned around only to stumble after the princess when she wrapped her fingers around his metal wrist and pulled him along behind her. When she slowed to a stop, Shiro looked up, and up. The alien standing in front of them was tall and so slender, its body reminded Shiro of a young tree lime. Its skin was a pasty pale but smooth and featureless. Its head was small but seemed to fit with this creature's small and thin proportions. Its nose consisted of two, narrow slits curving delicately up from its lips.

The alien's head swayed gently on its neck which was easily a little longer than a foot as it turned its eyes to focus on Allura and Shiro. Its eyes were perhaps the only large thing about this alien. They were as black as Shiro's Lion except for a starburst of silver-gray in the center surrounding a tiny, pinprick of black which Shiro assumed was the iris and pupil.

"What is it child?" the alien said, its voice soft like a whisper.

"I am seeking a place called The Mistro," Allura said, tilting her head forward in a small bow. "I ask for guidance because I have never set foot here before."

The alien bobbed its head gently. "Then allow me to guide you, small one," it said.

"Your help is graciously accepted," Allura said.

The alien swept past them, stepping up onto the lift. Allura and Shiro followed. Shiro was finding it hard not to stare at the alien in awe. After a moment, the creature turned its head and met Shiro's gaze with its own. There was no judgement there, only curiosity.

"Why do you stare, small one?" it asked.

A flush crept into Shiro's face from being caught in the act of staring rudely. "I… I didn't mean to be rude," he said, stepping back and bowing slightly at the waist, startling both Allura and the alien. "It's just," he straightened, "I've never seen someone like you before."

The alien hummed. "Nor I you," it said. It tilted its head to the side curving its neck as it did so. "Do you approve?"

Shiro blinked in honest confusion. "Approve?" he asked. "Of what? You?" The alien nodded. "That's not really my place," he said. "You are who you are and I am who I am."

"And yet you stare," it said. "Why?"

Allura glanced at Shiro as well. The black paladin rolled his shoulders and thought for a moment. "I guess I've just never seen anyone so graceful before," he said without any hint of mockery. "You move like water. It's strange, but nice."

The alien made a face that Shiro sincerely hoped was a smile before turning away. The lift slowed at one of the higher skypath levels and the alien gestured to it.

"This is the level you seek," it said. "The Mistro is the building with three spires."

It pointed to three, tall spires towering above the skypath and glittering in the fragile sunlight filtering through the storm clouds and the particle barrier above them.

"I thank you for help," Allura said, nodding her head in farewell.

"You are most welcome," it said, turning its gaze to Shiro.

It bobbed its head to him and Shiro bowed politely in return. When he straightened, the lift was already descending once more leaving him and the princess standing on the skypath. Visitors began to gather by the lift dock once more, waiting for the next lift going up or down. Allura paid them no mind. Instead, she took Shiro's hand and they made their way towards The Mistro.

"You impressed her," the princess said suddenly when they were clear of the densest crowd.

"Her? How do you mean?" Shiro asked.

"You bowed to her," Allura said, glancing at him. "How did you know to do that?"

The black paladin shrugged. "I didn't," he said. "It's part of my culture. Bowing is respectful."

"I see." The princess pondered this for a moment. "Do the others, Hunk and Pidge, do they bow as well?" she asked.

Shiro shook his head. "No. I doubt it. I think Pidge would punch anyone who asked her to. Hunk might consider it though. But really, it's a part of my personal culture and heritage."

"Your world is so full of so many differences," Allura marveled. "I don't think I have every visited or even heard of a world as eclectic as yours."

Shiro snorted. "I'll take that as a compliment," he said.

"It was."

Shiro looked at the princess who met his eyes and smiled. That smile made a warm grow in his chest and made his heart beat faster and oh good lord above he was going sappy. Too many soap operas. That had to be the culprit. Definitely. Too many soap operas.

* * *

Keithek stopped by the lift tube and pressed the button to call the lift to this floor. He held the cube with the juniberry plant close to his chest. It had taken a lot of effort to get this plant. There was no way he was going to let something happen to it. Not now.

"What was that back there?" Rolo demanded.

"She read my mind," Keithek answered.

"Yeah, I got that much," the trader groused. "What did you do to Merla?" When Keithek didn't answer right away, Rolo grabbed his shoulder and forced the red paladin to turn and face him. "Look," Rolo said fiercely. "Merla is powerful in the trading world. There isn't much that can ruffle her feather. Whatever you did managed to do just that. Now, what did you do?"

Keithek glared at Rolo who met him glare for glare. After a tick or two, Keithek rolled his eyes. "When she looked into my mind, I looked into hers," he said. "No, I don't know how I did it," he said quickly when Rolo opened his mouth to speak. "All I know, is that telepathic communication can work both ways. It's a double edged sword."

"Read someone else's mind, you risk getting your own mind read," Rolo murmured.

"Something like that," Keithek said, nodding and shrugging. "My mother described it as opening a narrow tube between two buildings. As long as the door is open, people can enter or leave whenever they want. But only if they see the door."

Rolo huffed and shook his head. "You're crazy, kid," he said.

"I'm not a kid," Keithek said, glaring angrily at the trader.

"Ok, then Not-a-Kid," Rolo said, ignoring Keithek's darkening glare. "What did you give Merla in exchange for the plant? What did she see that was so interesting?"

The red paladin heaved a sigh and pressed his lips together in a firm line. "She saw me kill Sendak," he said grimly. "Then one thing led to another and I found my way into her mind and saw my father and Lotor."

"Not surprising," the trader said. "Lotor's here right now. I'm not exactly sure which spire he's staying it, but whichever it is, I can guarantee it's one of the top floors."

"My father's with Lotor," Keithek said. "Last I heard, he was still working under Commander Prorok."

Rolo hesitated, glancing at the red paladin through the corner of his eye. "Your father's Thace, isn't it?" he asked in a low voice.

Keithek spun to face the trader and his ears flipped up in full alert. "How do you know that?" he demanded.

"Relax, Not-a-Kid," Rolo said, waving the red paladin down. The nickname only served to raise Keithek's hackles, however. "I figured it out after we left that Castleship of yours. Thace is a contact for the resistance. We call him-"

"Soldier," Keithek said, easing back from his defensive stance. "I know. He tried to keep me out of most of it, but I helped where and when I could." He sighed as the lift finally reached their level. "He managed to manipulate the crew ledgers so I could serve under Sendak for a few trips. Sendak was high enough in rank that the Druids weren't necessarily needed to enforce his commands. I got lucky. There weren't any Druids on the battlecruiser for the two trips I served on it."

He fell silent when the lift doors opened and they stepped inside. When the doors hissed shut, Keithek spoke once more. "Good thing too," he said. "If a Druid had been aboard, I doubt Lance would be in one piece right now."

"I take it that's how you two met," Rolo said.

Keithek nodded. "I captured him under Sendak's command. Then I helped him escape." His ears drooped. "I wasn't able to contact my father before or since. I don't have his private codes and anyway it's too dangerous. I don't want to blow his cover."

Rolo nodded. "We haven't gotten a spy as deep or as high up in rank as he's managed to get," he admitted. "He's…a valuable asset."

Keithek nodded slowly. "That's one way of putting it," he said.

The trader bit down too hard on his stick and it snapped. Sighing, he pulled out the piece in his mouth and tucked it in one of his vest pockets. Then he stuck the other piece back in his mouth and continued chewing.

"Merla said something about your mother, too," he said finally. "You know her?" Keithek nodded and Rolo shook his head. "I'm surprised. Don't be offended, but most halfbreed don't know one parent, let alone two. You're lucky."

The red paladin shrugged. "Lucky that I know them? Yeah, maybe." The lift slowed as they approached the atrium floor. "I just wish they were easier to talk to."

Rolo huffed a laugh. "They're parents," he said, smiling wistfully. "Take what luck you can get. Like the fact no one else tried to get on this lift while we were talking," he said.

The lift doors opened and Rolo stepped out onto the atrium floor with Keithek on his heels. He made his way confidently across the floor to the restaurant and lounge in the spire across the way.

"Brace yourself," he muttered when the red paladin caught up to him and matched his stride. "Nyma can drink just about anyone under the table. Stupid Teiidae immune systems," he grumbled.

"I think Lance should be fine," Keithek said, sincerely hoping that would be the case.

"Rolo!"

The trader halted mid-stride and turned around startling Keithek. The red paladin followed the trader's gaze to a large, crustacean-like creature with two legs, four arms, and what appeared to be four eyes. The two largest eyes were black and gleamed in the dim light of the lounge. The two smaller eyes were covered by a type of tinted goggles and situated on the creature's head just beneath the two red antennae.

"Mans," Rolo greeted with a smile. "I hope Nyma hasn't been too much trouble."

The creature, Mans, shook his head and groaned. "Whoever that is she's made her new drinking partner has a higher tolerance than I expected," he said. "Although, I don't think she'll last much longer."

Mans looked over his shoulder at the yellow skinned Teiidae and her blonde companion sitting on the other side of the bar. Keithek felt his heart flutter a bit when he saw Lance. She was smiling and laughing at something Nyma had said. It was nice to see her smile like that. Keithek just wished that smile was directed at…

Lance looked up and her eyes picked out Keithek easily. Her smiled immediately grew wider and she waved. Keithek waved back.

"I'll be right back," he muttered to Rolo before making his way around the bar towards his mate, his prize still tucked close to his chest.

* * *

Rolo watched the halfbreed go in amused sympathy. If Lance was as drunk as she looked, then Keithek would have his hands full with her.

"Who's your friend?" Manset asked, reaching over to swipe both of the freshly poured glasses of water from the bar. He handed one to Rolo and kept the other for himself.

The trader glance surreptitiously around them before answering. "He's one of the paladins of Voltron," he said.

"Really?" Manset's nonexistent eyebrows lifted as he made his way leisurely over to one of the bar stools. "He seems quite taken with Nyma's drinking companion."

"Well," Rolo shrugged, taking the seat next to Manset and sipping his water. "Considering she's his mate, that makes sense."

The crustacean stiffened and stared at Rolo in shock. When the trader nodded, Manset looked at Nyma and the other drinker with renewed interest.

"I see," he murmured. "What's her name?"

Rolo licked his lips and took a drink. "Lance," he said.

"Lance?" Manset asked. "Strange name. Any idea what her race is?"

The trader nodded. "Altean," he said.

"Alt- _what?!"_ Manset gasped, whirling to Rolo. "Altean?" he hissed.

He turned back to Nyma and Lance just in time to see the halfbreed boy join them. The halfbreed was smiling like a lovesick lunatic. Manset watched the boy place the cube he'd been holding on the bar in front of Lance and say something too softly to be heard. Whatever it was had an immediate effect on Lance. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. She set her drink down and promptly glomped her mate. The unprepared halfbreed suddenly found his arms full of drunken Altean, but judging from the way they were both kissing, Manset doubted either party minded the situation.

Manset narrowed his eyes at the cube sitting on the bar by Nyma and sighed. "I'm guessing that…thing is in there," he said.

"It is, yes," Rolo said with a nod. "He traded with Merla for it."

Manset groaned. "I hope this means you'll wash your hands of this business," he said.

"That halfbreed's father is the Soldier," Rolo said. He watched Manset's reaction from the corner of his eye. He knew he had the lounge owner's attention now. "And whoever his mother is, Merla knows her."

"And you think that's important?" Manset asked in a low voice.

Rolo didn't nod, but he did set down his now empty glass. "I guess that depends on who she is," he said. He pushed his bar stool back and stood to go join Nyma, Keithek, and Lance when he looked up and froze, his eyes wide. "L-leader?" he gasped.

Manset spun around so fast, he very nearly fell out of his seat. Standing there in front of him was a woman who was almost the spitting image of their venerable leader. Except for the pink eye scales that resembled the blue eye scales on Nyma's drinking companion's cheeks, he would have been ready to swear this person was their leader.

"I beg your pardon?" the woman asked, looking between Rolo and Manset in confusion.

The person standing next to her looked equally confused. His dark gray eyes sparkled with interest and wariness. He didn't belong to any race Manset was familiar with. But the mechanical arm combined with the tuft of white hair hanging over his brow and the scar across his face screamed the person's name without the need for words. Anyone who had ever seen a gladiator game in the past standard period knew this man.

"Champion," Manset said, schooling his tone to not come off as curt.

Judging by the Champion's not-so-subtle flinch, he hadn't succeeded.


	99. PART 4 - 99: Not Ready

**A/N:** I'm currently at the American Meteorological Society's annual conference in Seattle. I've been here since Friday and will stay here through this Thursday. It's awesome. Ir's like a con but for weather nerds. It's great but I'm exhausted, my feet are dying, and I'm still stuck on EST which is 3 hours ahead. I'm so tired. Any free time I've had has been spent sleeping, sight-seeing, or watching Season 2 of V:LD.

Enjoy this in the meantime while I get some sleep. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which the siblings briefly reunite then part to have private talks with two, very different people for the same basic reason. **  
**

* * *

 **99: Not Ready**

The woman narrowed her eyes in warning. "That's 'paladin' to you," she said in clipped tones. "We all fight to survive in different ways. Some literally."

"Um, why are you… Um." Rolo tried to figure out what to say. He recognized Shiro but he could not figure out who the woman next to him was. Unless… "Are you-?"

"It's okay, Katie," Shiro said, cutting off the trader flashing the woman a tired smile. "Don't worry about it. We won't be staying long, anyway." He glanced at the crustacean alien once more before turning his dark gray eyes to a still stunned Rolo. "Long time no see," he said, extending his right hand.

Rolo hesitated just long enough to notice a flicker of sadness in the black paladin's gaze. Biting back on his confusion, he reached out and clasped the cybernetic hand firmly. "I guess so," he replied. "No hard feelings about last time, I hope."

Shiro blinked dumbly for a second then his expression eased into something more like amusement and relief. "Is that what's bothering you?" he asked. Rolo grimaced and Shiro huffed a laugh. "Look, we've all been in tough places before. You've helped us since then. I may not trust you completely, I trust you enough."

"Thank you?" Rolo said, his voice lifting up in a question. "I think?"

The black paladin pulled his hand back with a snort of amusement. "That's what we call a backhanded compliment back where I'm from," he said.

The woman rolled her eyes. "You two are ridiculous," she said in what Rolo was sure was only mock scorn. "Rolo," she said, startling the trader, "you wouldn't happen to know where my brother is, would you?"

"Bro- oh! Yeah, she-he-uh…" Rolo stumbled over his words awkwardly for a moment while the no-doubt shapeshifted princess stared at him in bewilderment.

"Are you quite alright?" Allura asked, looking concerned.

"Yeah, um... Can you change genders, by any chance?" he asked.

The princess blinked. "We don't have a gender," she said. "Although," she added thoughtfully, "I suppose we can change our outward appearance to something you perceive a gender, yes. Why?"

"Nothing," Rolo said quickly, waving his hands to dismiss the issue. "Just wanted to be sure. So," he said, crossing his arms as he fell back into his comfortable position as a trader, "how do you want to proceed?"

* * *

Shiro watched Allura aim a distrustful glare at the alien by Rolo's side instead of answering. She briefly met the black paladin's gaze before sighing and forcing herself to relax her shoulders and focus on the problem at hand.

"I'm here to pick up Lance and Keith," she said to Rolo. "And to talk about the other issue," she added, lifting an eyebrow significantly.

Rolo nodded. "Yeah, um, about that," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I booked you a VIP room to talk. But you won't be talking to me. You'll be talking to him," he said, pointing a thumb at the crustacean alien. "Guys, this is Manset, the owner of this lounge. Any business you want to discuss, future partnerships, trading deals, that sort of thing, they all go through him."

Manset stiffened and turned all four of his eyes to Rolo in shock. "What?" he gasped. "These- They- Rolo, what sort of trade is this?" he demanded.

"The kind that involves trade agreements between our two groups to work together," Allura said smoothly. "We have the same goal and don't want to end up stepping on each other's toes while trying to accomplish that goal. I'm sure you understand," she purred.

The lounge owner hummed, then sighed. "I see," he said. "This isn't the best place for this. This way." He waved for the group to join him and began making his way to a more private room to conduct business.

Shiro wasn't sure about this Manset person, but Rolo seemed to trust him. That didn't mean much in the grand scheme of things, but if Shiro never trusted anyone then he would be no better than a Galra. They had to be willing to offer some level of trust otherwise their whole alliance would be doomed before it even had the chance to start.

They began moving easily through the midday crowd towards one of two private lifts leading to the second and third levels where the VIP lounges and VIP meeting rooms were located respectfully. Just as their little group rounded the bar, a blur of blue and yellow darted in front of Shiro and leapt into Allura's arm with a cry of joy.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, it was hard for Shiro to tell at the moment, the black paladin didn't react to the sudden move right away even though it startled the living daylights out of him. Perhaps it was the way Allura's eyes widened when the person appeared in her vision, or maybe it was the smile on the person's face. Either way, Shiro was glad he hadn't acted.

"He did it!" Lance's voice burst from the petite blonde Human currently clinging to Allura's Human form like a barnacle. "Keith did it! He got the juniberry for us!"

"Is that Lance?" Shiro gasped, completely caught off guard.

"He- What?" Allura breathed.

The princess lifted her eyes from her armful of what Shiro was still trying to fully comprehend was a shapeshifted Lance and looked up to the red paladin. Keith was standing a few paces back from the group closer to the bar and watching to scene awkwardly.

"You did it?" Allura asked, pulling Shiro's attention back to her. The sheer amount of hope in Allura's voice and growing smile was enough to nearly break the black paladin's heart.

Keith's gold and violet eyes dropped to the floor as he shifted from foot to foot and nodded shyly. "Yeah," he said. "I traded for it and…"

He gestured to a decently sized cube made of metal and opaque particle barriers sitting on the bar counter where Lance had been sitting. Nyma was still sitting there. Nyma waved easily at Shiro when she noticed his gaze on her and the black paladin nodded back respectfully but didn't speak. Her smile grew in size when Rolo strolled over and plopped down heavily in the bar stool next to her. Shiro shook his head and focused on following the red paladin's movements with his eyes.

"This is it," Keith said, picking up the cube from the bar and turning back around to face the princess and the others. "I was only able to get one plant, but I figured if you two took care of it, it would grow. Here." He held it out to the princess. "Do you want it now or would you rather I take it back to the pod?" he asked.

Allura released her shapeshifted sibling and took the cube in her hands as if it was the most delicate thing in the universe. It was almost as if she was afraid the cube and its precious contents would vanish in a pile of ash if she so much as breathed on it wrong. She stroked one of the opaque particle barrier side with her thumbs and smiled up at the red paladin gratefully.

"Thank you so much, Keith," she said, her eyes still sparkling with joyful tears. "Thank you so much."

"You know what this means, sister," Lance purred, her eyes hooded in what Shiro was coming to recognize as the expression the prince's wore right before she would begin teasing someone relentlessly. He winced in anticipated sympathy. "I expect to be playing with children soon," Lance said.

Allura's resulting blush was brilliant but Shiro would wager a guess that his own blush was even darker, especially when Lance deliberately made eye contact with him and winked.

"I expect you to take good care of her, Shiro," Lance said. "But don't even think about touching her until _after_ we have our own little juniberry festival."

Allura gasped, a giddy smile on her face. "Yes! Yes, that would be perfect. We can even celebrate your birthday, Lance," she said excitedly.

Both of Lance's blue eyes widened in surprise. "I… But I don't know-"

"That's why I wanted it actually. The juniberry, I mean," Keith said suddenly, drawing Lance's attention. "I know you two talked about it a lot and I wanted to get you something for your birthday Lance but I-"

The red paladin fell silent when Lance smiled and stepped away from her sister in favor of pulling Keith into a hug. "Thank you," she murmured close to Keith's ear. "It truly means a lot."

"While I find this all rather…fascinating," the lounge owner said, cutting through the emotional celebration, "I have to ask: are you both Altean?"

Lance stepped just far enough away from Keith to look at Manset curiously while still remaining in the red paladin's arms. "We are, yes," she said. "Why?"

"Do you know someone called 'Sentinel'?" the lounge owner asked.

Lance and Allura narrowed their eyes while Shiro glared and Keith practically snarled at Manset.

"I take that as a yes," Manset said, astutely.

"Why do you want to know?" Keith asked, his voice so low it could have been a growl.

"Easy Keith," Shiro said, stepping between the red paladin and Manset although his glare never eased. "I don't think this is a conversation we should be having out here," he said, making a point to look around at the other guests in the lounge, some of whom had taken an interest in their little group.

"Of course," Manset said easily. "This way."

He waved a hand towards the lift before leading the way. Shiro watched Manset's retreating back for a moment before turning his serious gaze to Keith and Lance. "Keith, keep an eye on Lance," he said. "If this goes south, I need your first priority to be getting Lance back to the Castle."

"It already is," the red paladin said seriously, nodding to the black paladin.

Lance huffed. "You do realize I'm perfectly capable of handling myself," she said, crossing her arms.

"I do," Shiro agreed. "But I don't like all of us being together in the same place at the same time like this. If it were just us, then I wouldn't be so worried."

"But it isn't just us," Lance murmured, staring at Manset's back. Allura had stopped by the lift door, refusing to get in while she waited for Shiro to join her. "Keep an eye on my sister, Shiro," she said. "If it's a choice between her or me, you have to promise me you'll choose her."

Shiro shook his head. "I can't do that," he said.

"You have to," Lance said fiercely. "She's-"

"I know what she is, Lance," the black paladin said calmly. "I may not know everything, but I know enough. She may be who she is, but we're all a team. We work together, we succeed together, and we don't leave anyone behind. That includes you."

"I don't plan on being left behind," Lance said with a sigh. "But I do have another errand to run here on Meserie and I don't know if I'll be finished before you two are. Keep her safe, Shiro. Please."

The black paladin's eyes softened. "You have my word on that," he said. He placed his cybernetic hand on the prince's shoulder and squeezed it before turning and following after Allura and Manset. This was their chance to plant the seeds for the alliance they needed.

* * *

"Don't you want to join them?" Keith asked, watching Shiro step into the lift with Allura and Manset.

"Not particularly," the prince said, resting her head on the red paladin's shoulder with a sigh. "Politics and diplomacy were never my strong suits. They were always hers. She'll be fine taking care of this on her own. Besides," Lance said, stepping away from Keith and stretching luxuriously, "as long as she's handling this side of things, I can handle the rest."

The red paladin grimace, his ears drooping so they hung almost as limp as his black hair. "You still want to go through with it?" he asked wearily.

Lance shrugged. "It's worth a try," she said. "Since Lotor has no way of knowing about Shiro and Allura, they should be safe as long as they stay out of sight."

"And if Lotor tries to kill you?" Keith said in a flat tone, crossing his arms over his chest.

"He won't," the blue paladin said in a sure voice. "Zarkon wants the Sentinel alive and unharmed."

"Yeah," Keith grumbled. "And Sendak did a fantastic job of upholding his side of the no-harm thing."

Lance visibly paled, forcing herself to take a deep breath to calm down her nerves. She couldn't afford to think of Sendak right now. She needed to focus on Lotor. Sendak was dead. Lotor was alive and very dangerous.

"I doubt the prince of the Galra Empire would harm the person who will be offering him a chance to actually sit on the throne of as the Emperor of the Galra Empire," Lance said.

Although the prince's words were strong and confident, her voice was unsure and wavered disconcertingly. Keith reached out and pinched his mate's chin between his thumb and forefinger, lifting Lance's face so their eyes met.

"You don't know Lotor like I do," the red paladin said, his voice cold and distant, yet gentle. "If Zarkon ever has a problem with a prisoner, he lets the Druids have their way with them. If the Druids grow tired of the prisoner or Lotor is interested for whatever reason, then the prisoner is handed over to Lotor. That bastard has a reputation for breaking his prisoners."

"He won't break me," Lance said firmly.

"He almost broke my mother, Lance," Keith snapped. "It was only by a miracle that she got away while she still could."

You're mother?" Lance murmured in surprise.

Keith's eyes grew wide and he slammed his mouth shut, avoid his mate's gaze. Eventually, he nodded reluctantly.

"My mother was a prisoner of Lotor," Keith explained. "My father helped her escape." He bit his lip nervously and bowed his head. "Look, Lance," he said. "I want you to live. I _need_ you to live. I'll die for you. I want you to stay as far away from Lotor as possible. Promise me you'll do that Druid teleport thing the instant things start to look bad."

Lance snorted and reached up to trail her fingers down the soft fur on one of Keith's ears. "I promise to do my best," she said. "I can't promise any more than that."

Keith sighed reluctantly. "I'll accept that," he said finally. "Come on. Let's go find a way to Break into Lotor's room."

Lance's snort startled him. He stared at his mate in confusion as Lance strolled boldly out of the lounge and out into The Mistro's atrium in the opposite direction of any of the lifts.

"Um, where are you going?" Keith asked, not understanding what was going on.

"Why break in when I can walk right through the front door?" Lance asked. She stepped up to The Mistro's main desk and smiled at the employee there. "Hello," she purred. "I'd like to make a call to one of your guests."

"Sure," the employee said. "Who do you want to speak to?"

"Prince Lotor of the Galra Empire," Lance said, flashing the now terrified employee a flirtatious smile. "Tell him, 'The Sentinel is here to see him.' Don't worry. He's expecting me."

The employee's hands shook as he typed the message into a computer and sent it to the requested guest.

"You're insane," Lance heard her mate mutter under his breath.

She smiled proudly.

* * *

Thace fingered the blade at his waist. The weight of it was comforting. It reminded him of the whole reason why he was fighting, why he was spying, why he was doing everything these days. This may not have been his first blade, but this knife had awoken for him and that was enough. Be knew time was not necessarily on his side but he also knew that time was more often than no, an unexpected ally.

He had been getting close to finding out how Emperor Zarkon's planet-destroying weapon worked before Commander Prorok's failed attack on Voltron at Balmera 95-Vox. On the bright side, Prorok's failure had earned Thace the chance to gain favor with Zarkon. Than could be a double edged sword. On the one hand, Thace now had access to things he hadn't before due to his rank as a mere subcommander. On the other hand, however, if Thace stumbled even a little, he would cut himself. He had to be careful, now more than ever.

That's why he was ready to face who knows what the moment he stepped off the lift onto the floor of The Mistro's atrium. S

Whoever had been stupid enough to have The Mistro's desk employee call up to Lotor's chambers asking for a private meeting would regret their mistake. The fact that, when asked, The Mistro's desk employee said the person who wanted to speak to the Prince of the Galra Empire was someone who called themselves 'Sentinel' was the final bar on the proverbial ion canon's power setting. Thace was fully prepared to kill the idiot, but he would have to wait until Lotor was through with them. The prince had declared the right to first blood.

Thace was ready for this. He was not ready to see his son.


	100. PART 4 - 100: Somewhere

**A/N:** Sorry for the delay in uploading. I honestly didn't realize how hard it would be adjusting from Pacific to Eastern time. It's freaking difficult. I'm still getting back into the swing of things.

 **Side note:** With this chapter, I've officially posted 100 chapters and 340,528 words towards this series. Holy freaking crap! Y'all! I've never done this before. This is amazing! Holy mackerel! *flails*

Anywho, I've got classes tomorrow so I've got to crash now. That said, enjoy~ **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Pidge and Hunk find a place and Manset gets somewhere. **  
**

* * *

 **100: Somewhere**

Hunk stared at the papers scattered around him on the floor. The more he looked at the strange Galra symbols, the more he was convinced he was looking at-

"Coordinates."

He looked up at Pidge in shock, meeting her eyes in surprise when they both spoke at the same.

"Dude."

Hunk began cackling when Pidge's expression morphed into an expression of mild disgust when they both said the same thing at the same time again. It felt just like they were back at the Galaxy Garrison studying for their midterms or semester final exams. The only thing missing was a bag of Cheetos and half empty Coke cans.

And Earth.

Just as quickly as Hunk's laughter began, it stopped. He swallowed his humor and gathered up his spread of papers before scooting across the floor so he sat next to the green paladin. He shuffled through the papers until he had his latest scribbles on the top of the pile and held it out to Pidge.

"I think it's coordinates," he said. "It's the only combination that makes sense."

"Yeah, I agree," Pidge said, gesturing to her screen.

The current open window on the computer screen was filled with lines of code which made no sense to Hunk. It took him a second to realize it wasn't code at all so much as different perturbations of the same group of Galra symbols he had been working through by hand. He huffed a laugh and shook his head.

"Well," the yellow paladin said, "since we both came up with the same result after two different methods of working this out with no input from each other, I think we've got a pretty solid lead."

"Yeah." Pidge heaved a sigh and scratched her head. "Something about it just bothers me though," she mumbled.

"Hm? Why?" Hunk asked, facing his friend.

"These coordinates are just…" She threw up her hands in a shrug and groaned. "These coordinates don't make sense."

Hunk furrowed his brow in confusion and leaned closer to Pidge so he could get a better look over her shoulder at the computer. "How so?"

Pidge leaned away from Hunk and gave him a disgruntled look that Hunk caught. Immediately, the yellow paladin flushed and leaned back.

"Sorry," he said apologetically. "Personal bubble, I know."

Pidge rolled her eyes and sighed. "Anyway," she said, "as I was saying, these coordinates don't make sense. They all lead to nowhere space. It's just this place with nothing. Look."

She enlarged one of the windows in the background and typed the coordinates into the computer. The screen filled with a star map of Altean symbols that quickly became English letters, translating the names of the planets and stars. Then the map zoomed in on a small triad objects. From what Hunk could tell, the two larger objects were probably planets while the third object was either a planetoid like the one they found Rolo and Nyma on or a large moon of some kind.

"See what I mean?" Pidge said, gesturing to the screen in frustrated annoyance. "There is literally nothing at these coordinates. Just these two planets and that," she pointed vaguely at the third celestial object, "moon thing."

"Could there be life on those planets and moon-thing?" Hunk asked curiously.

"I mean, I could ask Coran to run a check on the area with the Castle's scanners but…" She shook her head. "Do these planets look like they could possibly support life of any kind?"

Hunk shrugged but leaned closer to the screen to get a better look at the planets. He was aware of the green paladin leaning away from him but since she didn't verbally complain or smack him or anything, he didn't give it much thought. She'd let him know if he was intruding too far on her space.

Honestly, he had to agree with Pidge. The two planets looked like a rocky desert with some serious ice caps and the larger planet looked like someone dropped too much blue food coloring into water. The dark sapphire swirled around the planet at what Hunk knew where nothing less than hurricane force winds at the very least. Granted, this was only a snapshot of the two planets; but just from this, the yellow paladin highly suspected no life could exist on these worlds.

The moon-thing or planetoid, however, could maybe have life on it, if there was an atmosphere on the thing. It was hard to tell from this image exactly, but it almost looked too small to have a significant atmosphere. If Hunk didn't know better, he would have asked what Pluto's moon Charon was doing in this triad of celestial bodies in a war in the stars in a galaxy far, far away? Man, where was Yoda when you needed him?

"No, you're right," Hunk admitted. "They don't look like they could support life." He shrugged. "But you never know, this is a freaky, weird place."

Pidge nodded hesitantly and shrugged. "True." She heaved a sigh and reached up to tap the translator behind her ear. "Hey, Shiro, can you hear me?"

 _"Pidge,"_ Shiro said.

"Shiro? You okay?" Hunk asked in concern. "You sound tense. What's going on?"

 _"Katie and I just got an interview with someone who may be able to put us into contact with the resistance,"_ Shiro said. _"So I can't talk long."_

"Got it. Okay, we'll make this quick then," Hunk said. "Pidge and I found something in Sendak's memories. We think they're coordinates."

 _"Coordinates?"_ Shiro asked, interest overriding his nerves. _"Coordinates to where?"_

"That's just it," Pidge spoke up. "We're not sure. Or, we're sure of where the coordinates lead to, but not why they lead there?"

 _"Why? Is there a base there? Or a planet or something?"_ Shiro pressed.

"Two planets and a planetoid-moon-thing," Pidge said, nodding.

 _"Planetoid-moon-thing?"_ Shiro repeated incredulously.

"It's too small to be classed as a planet," Pidge explained, "but if it's a moon, it's a big moon. It's like Pluto's moon, Charon," Pidge said.

"Considering one of the planets at those coordinates looks like Pluto," Hunk said, "I'd say our local Roman god of the underworld has got some competition." He chuckled. "I bet Pele could still take him on, though."

Pidge snickered. "Dude, I don't believe on gods and I agree with you on that one," she said, shooting Hunk a grin.

"Yeah, I figured you would," Hunk agreed, returning the green paladin's smile.

 _"Back to the coordinates?"_ Shiro interrupted impatiently. _"Sorry to press, but I can't much longer. I don't want to be rude."_

"Naw, you're good," Hunk said.

"We're going to ask Coran to use the Castle's sensors to scan for anything there," Pidge said, "but I doubt we'll find anything. Those two planets… Well, the planets _and_ the planetoid-moon-thing look lifeless."

 _"Planetoid-moon-thing?"_ Shiro said in a deadpan voice that made Hunk fight to muffle his laughter. _"Is that really what you're both going to keep calling that thing? Why not pick one and go with it?"_

"Because that's discriminating, Shiro," Pidge quipped in mocking offense. "We can't judge it based on one image. That's so rude. You might hurt its feelings."

Hunk slapped both of his hands over his mouth the smother his laughter as the green paladin spoke. Pidge winked at Hunk and held a finger up to her lips indicating silence. Shiro said nothing so they both waited with baited breath for the black paladin's response.

 _"You…"_

Shiro's heavy sigh which was audible over the communicator was the straw that broke the camel's back. Hunk hands flew away from his mouth like an exploding coke can. He threw his head back and cackled madly. Pidge wasn't far behind him. Except, instead of cackling, Pidge was snickering, her breath hissing through her teeth as she tried to control her laughter.

"Don't worry, Space Dad," Pidge said merrily. "We'll keep looking into this. I'll contact you when we have more."

 _"Thanks,"_ Shiro said in what sounded suspiciously like sarcasm.

"Real fast," Hunk said loudly before Shiro could break the connection. "Where're Lance and Keith? I haven't heard from them."

 _"They're fine last I checked,"_ the black paladin said. _"Lance had to run another errand here before meeting us back at the pod. Keith went with him, I think."_

"I'd be surprised if he didn't," Pidge said wryly.

"Yeah. Those two are attached at the hip," Hunk said. He noticed the dark grin spreading slowly across the green paladin's face and narrowed his eyes in warning. "Pidge, no. Don't-"

"Literally," Pidge said with a sly wink.

"Oh Pele, save me," Hunk groaned.

"That was good wasn't it, Shiro?" Pidge asked proudly. There was no response. "Shiro?" she called again. "That jerk. He hung up on me."

"Yeah, I wonder why?" the yellow paladin groused, getting to his feet. "You can keep coming up with horrible puns and dirty jokes. But I'm going to the bridge to find Coran."

"Hey. Wait, for me!"

* * *

"Is everything alright?" the Altean woman asked.

The Champion sighed heavily and rolled his eyes, nodding. The woman lifted an eyebrow to which the Champion pursed his lips and shrugged before saying one word.

"Pidge."

Whatever that word meant, it was clear to the woman. Both of her eyebrows lifted and she nodded sagely, her lips twitching up in an amused smile. Then she focused all of her attention on Manset.

"I was told you were the one to talk to if we wanted to form an alliance," she said, lifting the box holding that accursed drug plant close to her chest and studying Manset with watchful eyes. "Is this true?"

"That depends," Manset said, strolling over to the private, fully stocked wet bar on the far wall of this VIP room.

This wasn't one of his best. This wasn't designed for lounging or revelers. This room was mostly used for meetings or business so the windows were mirrored allowing the people inside to see out, but no one to see inside. The walls were also soundproofed to maintain privacy and security for anyone in this room. However, the hidden cameras placed at strategic points in the room picked up audio very well.

Manset poured himself a glass of wine before turning to his guests. "What sort of alliance did you have in mind?" he asked. "Business? Financial? I should probably tell you now that I don't plan on selling my business."

"A business alliance," the woman said curtly. "Unless, of course, you're not in the business of defeating Zarkon and the Galra Empire. If that's the case, then we have nothing else to talk about."

Without waiting for Manset to reply, she turned on her heel and walked back to the lift with the Champion by her side.

"Calm yourself," Manset said. "I had to make sure I understood the situation before talking. You understand."

The woman paused and looked back at him from over her shoulder. "I suppose," she drawled.

"However," Manset said. "I'm afraid I have to ask: are you the Sentinel?"

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Why do you want to know about the Sentinel?"

"So you aren't."

"Why do you want to know about the Sentinel?" she repeated, her voice colder than the first time. The Champion shifted by her side, immediately putting Manset on edge.

"I do not want to harm him," the lounge owner said. "But I'm under orders to contact to Sentinel directly, if possible."

"Why?" the woman asked.

"Orders from who?" the Champion demanded.

"My orders are from my superior," Manset explained. "As for why, we've heard much about the Sentinel and his connection to Voltron. I'm sure he's aware that the esteemed emperor has charged a large portion of his forces to tracking the Sentinel down and capturing him alive at all costs."

"We're aware," the Champion said. He glanced at the woman carefully before continuing. "Anything you say to us will be directly delivered to the Sentinel."

"So the Sentinel is your leader, is he?" Manset said, calmly taking a sip of his drink. "Ah, forgive my manners. Would you like something to drink?" he asked, gesturing to the stocked bar behind him.

"I don't drink on the job," the Champion said.

"I prefer to keep my wits about me," the woman said. "But your offer is greatly appreciated."

"Very well." Manset took another sip of his drink before speaking once more. "As I understand it, the young Galra halfbreed whose mate was drinking with Nyma is a paladin of Voltron."

"His name is Keith and yes, he is," the woman said. "As is Keith's mate and Shiro."

"Shiro." The lounge owner focused his gaze on the Champion. "Is that your name?"

The Champion nodded. "It is." He hesitated before stepping forward and extending his hand in what appeared to be a friendly manner. "I think we should have done this to begin with. I'm Shiro and this is Katie," he said, nodding to the blonde woman next to him. "I hope it'll a pleasure to meet you."

Manset eyed the offered hand for a moment before clasping it in one of his three hands that wasn't holding his wine. "I hope it will be a pleasure as well," he said. "I apologize for the abruptness of my attitude from earlier. But you must understand that our resistance has only managed to get as far as it has because we trust so few people."

Katie nodded. "I understand," she said. "I should probably tell you that I'll be the one to handle most of these meetings, not the Sentinel."

"What?" Manset gasped. "Why?"

"Because I have more experience than he does with this," she said simply. "I was trained to be a diplomat. He wasn't."

"You talk about him as if you're close," Manset commented, sipping his drink.

Katie nodded, her eye gleaming with intelligence. "We are," she replied. "Anything he knows, I know. Anything I know, he knows."

"Mates then?"

Katie's face flushed a bright red before quickly draining to a stark white. "No!" she cried almost instantly, too quickly to be a lie. "Ugh, no."

Interestingly, even Shiro, the Champion of the Galran gladiator fights, visibly paled at the suggestion. Well, there were only a few types of relationships that would garner a reaction like that. If mating someone was so terrible, then perhaps the Sentinel and Katie were…

"Related?" Manset asked.

Katie nodded. "Yes," she said.

Manset did not miss the sharp look Shiro shot the Altean woman at her admission. Curious. Perhaps her words were a lie? Or perhaps she shouldn't have said that? Was her relationship to the Sentinel something that-

"Don't tell anyone," Shiro said, confirming some of Manset's suspicions. "The less Zarkon knows, the better. For all of us."

Manset glared. "You think I would betray you to the Galra?" he hissed angrily.

"No offense, but that's how we met Rolo and Nyma," Shiro said. "We're not interested in a repeat performance of that."

"I see." Manset considered his options before speaking once more. "Alright. Our Leader would like to meet with the Sentinel personally to discuss an alliance."

"That can be arranged," Katie said. "Although, I think your Leader would prefer to speak to the leader of our team instead."

The lounge owner studied the two people in front of him curiously. "You mean to say, the Sentinel isn't your leader?" he asked.

"No," Katie said. "I am. The Sentinel is my sibling. He took it upon himself to draw the Galra's attention so I could move in secrecy."

It was subtle, but Manset caught the way Katie's eyebrows fell low over her eyes and the way she grit her jaw.

"I'm still not happy with him about that," she grumbled.

Shiro pressed his lips together in a thin line. "He did it to protect you," he said to Katie.

Judging by the Altean woman's heavy sigh of annoyance, this was a conversation that had happened several times before.

Manset hummed thoughtfully. "I'll pass on the information," he said. "Is there any way for me to contact you when I get a solid time and place for you to meet our leader?"

"Nyma and Rolo have a direct line to my brother," Katie said. "Anything he hears, he'll pass on to me."

"I suppose that's fair," Manset said. "You may be asked to come to the meeting alone."

Shiro stiffened in shock. "That's not-"

"As long as I have confirmation that I'm meeting the Leader alone as well, I don't have a problem with those terms," Katie said.

"A-Katie!?" Shiro cried.

"I'm capable of handling myself," Katie said firmly, cutting the Champion off with a cool glare. "Consider this a promise," she said, turning her gaze back to Manset. "When I receive word of the time and place of the meeting, I will come alone. Unless, of course, your leader wants to meet the Sentinel as well. Then I'll have him accompany me."

Manset nodded slowly. "I'll pass on your words and inform you of my leader's choice," he said finally.

"That is acceptable," Katie said, nodding. Her hands tightened their grip on the box they held, momentarily distracting the lounge owner from his thoughts.

"Although," he added as an afterthought, "I have to ask: that… _thing_ ," he nodded to the box in Katie's hands, "is it really important to you?"

The Altean woman blinked and looked down at the box. She pressed the button at the top of the metal clasp and the slender, metallic arms folded back into their place at the box's base. The particle barriers vanished as the metal arms folded away revealing a deceptively simple flower with fuchsia petals, a bright yellow stamen, and a living, green stem that vanished into a small pot of dirt.

Manset noticed the way the Champion looked at the small plant curiously before lifting his gaze to Katie's face. The soft smile that filled the Champion's face at Katie's expression of pure joy was telling.

"This…" Katie's voice was a whisper that Manset almost missed. "This is everything to me and my brother," she said louder.

She pressed her lips to the plant, kissing one of the petals before breathing on it. For a split tick, Manset would have sworn he saw a faint vapor that glittered gold in the faint light of the VIP room. He didn't doubt he saw that vapor, but he wasn't sure if it was really a vapor. Especially when the plant shivered in the impromptu breeze in such a way that one of the small, frail vines that spiraled out from the plant's stem seeking something to latch onto, ended up looping around one of Katie's pale fingers.

It was like the plant was sentient. This

Manset shook his head. This was quite frankly above his pay grade. "Put that away before you leave," he said. "Those plants aren't exactly welcome in much of the universe."

The Altean woman's smile faded somewhat. "So I've heard," she said. She gently freed her finger from the juniberry plant's vine before activating the box's sealing mechanism, hiding the plant from view once more. "If that's all," she said, lifting her gaze to Manset's, "then we'll be on our way."

The lounge owner nodded. "It is," he said, "for now."

Katie nodded and turned to walk back to the lift with Shiro close by her side.

"Actually," Manset called, "I do have one more question." He waited until both of his guests stopped and looked back at him before saying, "I heard you mention something about changing your outward appearance to Rolo when we were first introduced. What did you mean by that?"

The Altean woman smiled playfully. "Wouldn't you like to know," she said.

The Champion actually snorted, his lips struggling to fight back a smile as he followed Katie into the lift. Manset leaned back against the bar in the dim VIP room. He would have to report this to the Leader as soon as possible. If all went well, then they and their counterparts within the Galra ranks could bring about the emperor's long-awaited downfall much sooner. That was something to drink to. So he did just that.


	101. PART 4 - 101: Juice

**A/N:** I have been waiting to write this scene for literally ages.

 **Side note:** Yes. Lance does shift from her female-ish form to his usual male form near the end of this. So the pronoun change is deliberate. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Thace is not sure what to make of this and Lance gets a curse that should have been a gift. **  
**

* * *

 **101: Juice**

Thace could barely believe what, or specifically _who_ , he was seeing. Standing near the information desk for the largest spire of The Mistro was Keithek. The boy was leaning back against the stone wall of the spire by the desk alcove and gazing at a petite, young female with pale skin and short, messy blonde hair. The female's back faced Thace when he stepped out of the lift but when Keithek's eyes lifted and locked on Thace's form, she turned to face him.

The woman's features were sharp and her two blue eyes alert. One blue eye, Thace corrected himself. The woman's right eye was cybernetic. Judging by the scar streaking away from the corner of the right eye through the eye scale there, the eye had not been removed gracefully.

Eye scale.

Thace still, staring at the woman in dawning shock. Either this person was Altean or, more likely, she had enough Altean blood within her to manifest those distinctive characteristics. But Thace was fairly certain the Sentinel was a male, not a female. If that still stood true, then who was this woman?

"Am I really that eye catching?" the woman asked, her lips curving up in a teasing smile.

Keithek snorted in amusement although his eyes did not leave Thace for a tick. Thace took a deep breath of the air, but he couldn't detect anything of use. There were simply too many scents filling The Mistro's atrium. He would have to wait until they stepped into the lift to be sure. But if he was right…

"Are you the Sentinel?" he asked the woman in a curt voice.

She grinned. "Guilty," she said, crossing her arms over her small breasts. She gave Thace a quick once over with her eyes before smirking. "Are you my escort?"

"The Sentinel is a male," Thace said firmly. "I've seen his image."

"Have you now?" the woman asked, looking thoroughly amused by this whole situation.

Thace glanced up at Keithek who shifted uncomfortably behind the woman. Keithek nodded minutely and Thace felt like his gut had been punched. This…was not supposed to happen. The Sentinel was supposed to be against Zarkon and the Galra Empire. Why would the Sentinel turn himself…herself…in? Unless this person wasn't the Sentinel at all but a stand-in perhaps?

The woman hummed. "Who would have thought I'd be so popular in this day and age," she said. "I feel important." She looked back at Keithek and did something Thace couldn't see, but whatever it was made Keithek respond with a flat glare and groan of annoyance. "Well? What are you waiting for? Lead on, soldier."

Thace narrowed his golden eyes when the woman commanded him. Whether she meant to or not, being addressed by his codename out of context still made him twitch. Nevertheless, he had a duty to perform and a façade to uphold. He snatched the woman's upper arm in a tight grip and pulled her along to the lift.

The action must have caught her off guard because she stumbled the first few steps before speeding up her steps to match his long-legged gait. Her smile had slipped somewhat but the ghost of it remained on her face as if she was trying to hold a cracking mask in place. When he stepped into the lift, he pulled the woman in with him and placed his hand against the scanning pad. The transparent material surrounding the lift suddenly clouded to translucent, blocking the view of any curious eyes from outside.

Just before the lift door slid shut, Keithek stepped in. Thace had a brief moment of mild surprise before he was forced to dodge a sharp left hand punch. Instinctively, Thace leapt back and lifted both arms in self-defense, releasing his hold on the woman as he did so. When there wasn't another incoming blow, Thace lowered his arms and relaxed his stance to stare at Keithek in shock.

The woman looked just as startled as Thace did but she didn't struggle to get out of Keithek's hold. Thace's son held the woman to his chest with one hand looping around the woman's back and the other hand gripping the woman's head, holding her close to his chest. Keithek's gold and violet eyes glared angrily at Thace with a viciousness the Galra soldier had never seen before except from his superiors. He never imagined he would see that expression aimed at him from his own son.

"Keith?" the woman breathed, surprise filling her voice. "Keith what-"

"Was that really necessary?" Keithek demanded angrily at Thace.

Thace straightened, glancing at the floor number indicator to see they were just now passing the tenth floor. He sighed. "I had to keep up the façade of a loyal soldier of the Galra Empire," he said.

"You couldn't have done that without being so rough?" Keithek snapped.

Thace sighed, his shoulders dropping. "It wasn't intentional," he insisted with a grimace. "I apologize if I was too rough," he said to the woman.

She blinked and angled her head so she could meet Thace's eyes over her shoulder, clearly still confused by this whole thing. "I… It's nothing," she said, sounding unsure. "I'm fine." She tried to pull away from Keithek's grasp only for Keithek's hold on her to tighten causing her eyes to bulge out in shock. "Keith, what are you doing?" she said. "Let me go."

Keithek didn't reply but he reluctantly loosened his grip allowing the woman to step back. He glanced at her briefly, his cheeks darkening before meeting Thace's gaze again. Most of the anger had faded from his eyes by now, replaced by guilt and embarrassment. Thace lifted his eyebrows in a silent question. Keithek cleared his throat and looked away.

"Keith, what is going on?" the woman asked sternly. Keithek bit his lip but answer fast enough to suit the woman. So she turned her gaze to Thace, planting her hands on her hips in the picture of petulant annoyance and said, "What is going on here?"

Thace glanced at his son instead of answering. "Is she-" Keithek nodded. "And you're bringing her to Lotor?" he demanded, his displeasure evident on his face.

The woman's mouth dropped open. "Are you ignoring me?" she gasped.

"I'm not bringing her to do anything," Keithek said, rolling his eyes. "I don't _let_ her do anything either."

"Keith?" she said, aiming an offended stare at Thace's halfbreed son. "You too?"

Keithek sighed. "I'm not ignoring you," he said softly.

"You do realize the prince won't let her just walk out of here easily," Thace said.

"I am _right **here!** " _she suddenly shouted. "Both of you, _stop_ ignoring me."

"I wasn't ignoring you," Keithek cried in offense.

"You were talking over me like I wasn't even here," the woman said fiercely. "That's basically the same thing. If you have something to say about me, _both_ of you," she emphasized, shooting a glare at Thace, "then say it to me directly. Now what is going on here? What is up with you two? Do you know each other?"

Keithek pursed his lips and shifted foot to foot awkwardly. Eventually, he nodded. "He's…my father," he said.

"Your-" The woman stared at Thace with wide eyes, her mouth open in surprise. "Oh," she said in a soft voice.

Thace nodded. "Keithek is my son," he said. It had been long enough for the scents of the previous occupants to be thoroughly filtered out of the lift through the ventilation system. He could smell it now, the scent of a mated Galra. "So it's true," he said, meeting his son's eyes. "You did find a mate."

Keithek's eyes widened and blood rushed into his cheeks, but he nodded. "I did. I…" He glanced at the woman before continuing. "Father, this is Lance, my mate," he said, placing a hand on the woman's right shoulder, lifting a finger to tug down her collar revealing the distinct Mark on her lower neck.

But that didn't make sense. Rolo and Nyma had told Thace that Keithek's mate was a male and this woman clearly was not male.

"I see where you get your muscles," the woman, Lance, said. "Too bad you didn't get your height from him," she added with a teasing grin.

Keithek's blush intensified and he glared at Lance. The woman was thoroughly unbothered by the look. In fact, rather than be intimidated, her smile grew wider and she leaned over to press her lips to Keithek's in a kiss.

"Well," she said, "I suppose your father can't be all that bad. He did help make you, after all."

This time, even Thace blushed. By the Blade, did this woman have no shame?

"I'm Lance," she said, stepping away from Keithek and holding out a hand to Thace. "And you are?"

"Thace," he replied, gripping Lance's forearm firmly. "Subcommander under Commander Prorok."

"Impressive," Lance said, withdrawing her hand and studying Thace closely. "I take it you're part of the resistance as well. Otherwise, Keith wouldn't be so open with you."

The Galra soldier nodded. "I am. As far as I'm aware, I'm currently the highest ranked spy in the Galra Empire," he confirmed. His golden eyes narrowed in warning. "So you understand why-"

"Don't worry about that whole thing back there," Lance said, waving away Thace's words. "I was just caught off guard, is all. I should have expected something like that, I suppose. But I figured I would be handcuffed or something similar, not grabbed and pulled around like a doll."

"Wait, you were _expecting_ to be handcuffed?" Keithek gasped in barely disguised horror.

Lance rolled her eyes. "I'm basically turning myself in to my number one hunter, Keith," she said. "What did you think would happen?"

Keithek didn't answer aloud but his glare spoke volumes about how unhappy he was. It had the desired effect. His mate hesitated.

"I probably should have told you," she said. "I didn't think about that, to be honest."

Another glance at the floor numbers had Thace moving to end this quickly. They only had about fifty more floors to go before they reached Lotor's private suite at the top of the spire.

"That's not important right now," Thace said. "If you're my son's mate, then you know who the Sentinel is."

"Well I should," Lance said with a casual shrug of her shoulders. "If I didn't know who I was, that would be rather awkward."

"You _are_ the Sentinel, then," Thace confirmed.

"The one and only," Lance answered confidently. Thace didn't miss the way Keithek rolled his eyes.

"This was a stupid idea," Keithek muttered under his breath.

"That's not what you said earlier when you pinned me against a wall outside," Lance said, snickering.

Keithek groaned. "That was before I found out you were expecting to be handcuffed like a prisoner," he said.

"I am essentially a prisoner," Lance said. "But I doubt I will be for long."

"You don't know Lotor," Thace said, interrupting his son's banter. "He's been obsessing over you since the emperor first sent him your image. Which does bring up a rather pressing question." He glanced at Lance through the corner of his eye. "You don't look like your image at all."

"That was the general idea," Lance said. "I didn't want to be noticed before I was ready."

What happened next was not something Thace had ever seen before but left him with a sense of sick fascination. The paleness of Lance's skin darkened to the shade of stone lining the canyon walls of Meserie at the same time her blonde hair bled brown from the roots to the tips. Lance hair ended up a shade or so darker than her skin which only served to highlight the bright blue of both her natural and cybernetic eyes and her eye scales. She ran long, dark fingers through her hair, shaking her head as if to clear it. When her hand lowered, her ears had narrowed and elongated to a graceful point.

This person was slightly more effeminate than the image of the Sentinel Lotor had received and Thace had seen, but it was definitely the Sentinel.

"You're a shapeshifter?" Thace gasped.

"All Alteans were," Lance answered. "Do me a favor, Thace. If Lotor orders you to attack me or capture me, do your upmost best to obey him."

"What?" Thace cried. "Why would-"

"You won't succeed," Lance said seriously, her eyes narrowed sternly. "I honestly doubt you'll be able to lay a hand on me before I get out of there. But just in case something happens, do _not_ go easy on me." She met the Galra spy's eyes steadily. "Because I won't go easy on you," she finished.

Thace bit his tongue against the obvious protests he wanted to say, but one look at his son still his resistance. "You have my word," he said. "But don't underestimate Lotor." The lift dinged, indicating they had finally reached the prince's private floor. "You'll regret it if you do."

Lance's eyes narrowed but she held out her arm for Thace to grip like he had when he originally pulled her into the lift. "I don't plan to," she said.

Without another word, Thace gripped Lance's offered arm and yanked her unceremoniously out of the lift the moment the doors opened. Thace could smell Keithek's fury at the unwelcome manhandling of his mate, but that wasn't a bad thing. It would definitely lend credence to their story. He dragged Lance to the door to Lotor's private suite and knocked.

"Your Highness," he called. "It's Thace. I have the Sentinel and her companion."

The door unlocked and hissed open revealing a dark room beyond. Thace jerked Lance abruptly, forcing the Sentinel to follow. The woman winced slightly at the force but otherwise didn't resist. Keithek stepped inside right next to his mate and scanned the room around them, cataloguing everything in sight just as Thace had trained him to do. The rush of pride vanished the moment Prince Lotor stepped into the room from the balcony beyond the far door on the other side of the large common area.

"Welcome," the prince said, lifting a glass of red liquid in a mockery of a salute. "You'll have to forgive me, as I wasn't expecting visitors. Especially one as…sought after as yourself."

Lance squared her shoulders and gave Thace a look of disdain. "I hardly find being dragged up here like a prisoner when I was fully intending to come of my own free will a proper welcome," she said.

Lotor smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes. "No, I suppose not."

He lifted a finger, waving it dismissively at Thace who reluctantly released his hold on the Sentinel. Lance yanked her arm back to her side, rubbing it self-consciously.

"I've come to talk," she said.

"I'm sure." Lotor moved to a bar in the corner and uncorked a bottle, pouring its contents into a fresh glass. "A drink first," he said, picking up the glass and handing it to Lance.

* * *

Lance eyed the glass suspiciously, refusing to touch it. The Galran prince chuckled and sipped the drink from the glass, swallowing before offering it back to Lance. After a tick or two, Lance took the offered cup and held it to her nose. It smelled of spice and alcohol and something else she thought she barely recognized. It was faint, muddled by the heavy scent of spice and alcohol, but she could swear she knew that smell…

Her thoughts were derailed momentarily when Lotor abruptly clinked their glasses together.

"To good fortune," the prince said, before lifting his own glass to his lips and draining it dry.

Lance sighed and carefully drained her own drink. She could taste the source of that familiar scent, but again it was too faint to discern what it was exactly. She knew what it was, but she just couldn't remember. The Galran prince merely grinned and refilled both of their glasses from the same bottle.

"So," Lotor said, moving away from Lance to sprawl comfortable on one of the lush couches in the room, completely ignoring Thace and Keith. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this meeting?"

"I want to talk," she said again.

The Galran prince grinned. "So you've said. What could possibly be so important that you would deliberately offer yourself to me without any means of protection?"

"I doubt you'll harm me," Lance said boldly, striding to the chair directly across from the couch Lotor currently occupied.

"Oh? And why wouldn't I?" the prince asked.

"Because the emperor has ordered his hunters to capture me alive and unharmed," Lance replied promptly. "And you're such a good boy, I doubt you'll disobey your father."

Something flickered across Lotor's eyes too fast for Lance to fully comprehend. But whatever it was was gone when Lotor spoke once again.

"You have such faith in me," he said wryly. "If you truly believe I wouldn't harm you, then why bring your companion?"

Lotor deliberately focused his attention on Keith whom Lance was willing to bet looked positively murderous. If the amusement in Lotor's fresh grin was anything to go by, Lance would have collected on that bet.

"He's my mate," Lance said in a calm voice, belaying the nervous tingles that danced along his skin. "He would have come even if I'd commanded him not to."

That certainly didn't sit well with the Galran prince. Lotor's gaze flicked back to Lance with narrowed eyes.

"Your…mate?" Lotor repeated. Something about the way Lotor said the word 'mate' sent shivers down Lance's spine. "And does your mate satisfy you?"

Lance blinked, completely thrown by the unexpected question. "I…yes," she said. "Why would you ask that?"

Lotor shrugged. "I doubt your words," he said, taking another sip of his drink before placing it on the side table closest to him.

"I'm not lying," Lance said, narrowing her eyes. "I wouldn't lie about something like that."

"Maybe not deliberately," the Galran prince said, settling back in his seat and smiling pleasantly. "But I honestly doubt your mate has ever satisfied you."

Lance narrowed her eyes and set her own glass aside. "This has no bearing on why I'm here," she said in a curt voice. "I've come because I want to know-"

"I couldn't care less about the emperor," Lotor said. "I follow his orders because they haven't hindered my own goals."

Golden eyes raked up and down the Sentinel's form not bothering to hide their owner's intent. It made the hairs on the back of Lance's neck stand on end. What was going on? She hadn't been this nervous when she entered the room. Her eyes dropped to the set hi that

"And what would those goals be?" Lance asked, trying to smother the unexpected and unwelcome emotions.

"That information will cost you," Lotor said, smirking when Lance narrowed her eyes in annoyance.

"Then it's not worth my time," she said, uncrossing her legs and moving to stand.

"I didn't give you permission to move," Lotor said.

Lance snorted. "I don't need your permission," she said. "I do what I want."

The Galran prince sighed. "It appears I'll have to be a bit less delicate with you," he said.

"I'm not a fragile flo-"

Lance froze, her eyes wide in astonishment when Lotor was suddenly right in front of her. Since when did… How could he have moved… Fingers traced up the scar on her right cheek to the slashed eye scale before pressing it. It felt strange, sparkling like electricity and demanding like shout from utter silence.

"It appears you haven't bonded with your mate," Lotor said, changing the pressure on Lance's eye scale so it increased and decreased in a steady rhythm.

"What do you mean?" Lance hissed, suddenly finding it hard to talk.

What was going on? This wasn't normal. The last time she had felt like this was when she'd participated in the Juniberry Festival. But that was… Juniberry. Her eyes whipped to the glass of red liquid which she now recognized.

"You like it?" Lotor asked. "It's a special brew. I prefer more alcohol to mask the scent and flavor of the plant. It helps keep my…more enthusiastic companions more docile." He teased a nail against the damaged eye scale and Lance barely managed to suppress a shudder. "The fact it's affecting you like this instead of throwing you into a sea of hallucinations confirms your identity as an Altean. But while I do enjoy this form," the nail pressed harder, drawing out a soft gasp as Lance instinctively tried to lean away from the touch, "I'd much prefer it if you were on your knees."

This wasn't right. This wasn't how juniberry juice was meant to be used. It wasn't intended for this. She flinched, feeling her body shift, seeking a form that she hoped would be less appealing to the Galran prince. That was a mistake.

"Ah," Lotor purred, leaning close so he shared the same breath as Lance. "There you are."

Lance flinched but the pressure on his eye scale distracted him, making it difficult to think straight. "I'm not interested," he said.

Keith. Where was Keith?

"This seems to disagree with that statement," Lotor said, tapping the tip of the warm flesh between his legs sending something Lance hadn't felt in a long time zinging through his body.

He gasped, fighting back the influence of the juinberry juice. He narrowed his eyes and placed his hand directly over Lotor's chest. He could do this. If he could just clear his mind and get the information he came here for…

"I doubt the emperor would approve," Lance said in a shaky voice.

"Zarkon trusts me to expel the resistance from prisoners," Lotor said, his lips so close to Lance's. Closer. Come closer. No. _No, stay away!_

"So you're defying your father's orders?" Lance breathed. "You're not the emperor yet."

Lotor huffed a laugh that taunted Lance like forbidden treat he desired but knew would make him sick to his stomach. "I will be," the prince said. "I already have the loyalty of most of the Druids. It won't be long."

"Why not just kill him and get it over then?" Lance asked, pressing himself as far back into the cushions as he could in an attempt to resist the juniberry juice-induced desire.

"If I play my hand right," Lotor said, "I won't have to. He'll drive himself to an early grave."

Lance hummed. "Pity."

"Not at all," the Galran prince whispered.

"Not Zarkon," Lance said. "You."

Before Lotor could reply, Lance bit his lips hard enough to draw blood. The pain roused him from the juniberry juice haze enough for him to reach for his quintessence. It took more concentration than it should have to blast Lotor across the room with a quintessence bolt and vanish himself from the couch. The red paladin was struggling viciously in Thace's grasp, but froze when Lance appeared in front of him. Lance grabbed his mate by the collar and teleported them both out of Lotor's rooms and back to the pod.

He had the information he needed. That was all that mattered right now. He needed a shower.


	102. PART 4 - 102: Change

**A/N:** I've been promising more Romelle, more explanations, and darker things to come. Let the fun begin~ **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Lotor wasn't told, Thace is not happy, and Merla enjoys playing with people. Literally. **  
**

* * *

 **102: Change**

No one told him. No one fraking _told him_ the Sentinel was a _Druid!_

With a roar of fury, Lotor picked himself up off the floor and glared at the spot where the Sentinel vanished. Had Lotor been informed of the Sentinel's Druidic powers, he could have set up countermeasures. He also would have known that the cocktail he'd served his guest would not have affected him as seriously as he'd planned.

Druids had a strange way of muting the effects of certain drugs designed to muffle the senses. Drugging a Druid required a larger dose than what would typically be used for the average target. Haggar thought this was due to the quintessence they manipulated at will. Quintessence could act as an offensive weapon to attack and as a defensive shield to protect the user.

Not knowing about the Sentinel's Druidic powers had put Lotor at a disadvantage which resulted in the Sentinel escaping. Frell it all.

"Thace!" he shouted at the thoroughly befuddled Galra soldier. "Find him!"

The soldier hesitated. "Where should I-"

"He teleported," Lotor said fiercely. He stalked to his bedroom and returned with his sword. "Druids can only teleport short distances. He's still here. Contact Commander Prorok and have him scan Meserie for the Sentinel. No one is allowed to leave this place without approval."

"How will we tell the Sentinel apart from the other signals?" Thace asked in confusion.

"His signal should be the same as a Druid's," the prince declared. "Tell Prorok to start the scan immediately."

"Vrepit sa, sir!" Thace said promptly. "And if the Lions appear?"

"Blow them out of the sky," Lotor snarled. "What are you waiting for?" he snapped when the soldier didn't leave immediately. "Find him! Find the Sentinel. _Now!"_

* * *

Without waiting for further instructions, Thace turned and bolted out the door towards the lift as fast as his long legs could carry him. Once in the lift, he activated his communicator and called into it.

"Commander Prorok," he said urgently. "This is Thace. Can you hear me?"

 _"Subcommander,"_ Prorok's voice said, sounding bored over the communicator. _"Are we leaving this frell-forsaken planet yet?"_

"The Sentinel has been sighted on Meserie," Thace said quickly. "Prince Lotor has commanded us to find him at all costs. Start a scan of the planet's surface. Look for a Druid signal. That should be the Sentinel."

 _"A Druid signature?"_ the commander gasped. _"The Sentinel is a Druid?"_

"That's an affirmative."

Thace turned to stare out the lift's currently unclouded windows, looking for anyone that even remotely resembled the forms he'd witnessed the Sentinel wearing. He also kept an eye out for his son. If the two were mated, then there was little chance Keithek would leave the Sentinel alone.

"No one is allowed to leave the planet without clearance," Thace continued, his eyes darting across The Mistro's expanse for anyone familiar.

 _"And did his royal highness give orders regarding the Lions?"_ Prorok asked in annoyance.

"If the Lions arrive, destroy them," Thace replied. "Lotor should be coming after me."

He checked the floor level counter even though he knew he had a ways to go still. Then, to his horror, the floor numbers slowed down, then stopped just as the lift came to a stop of the seventy-seventh floor. When the doors opened, he muttered a particularly vile curse that he would have been ashamed to utter in any other circumstance.

The woman who stepped into the lift clucked and waved a finger at him in a degrading manner. "Now, now, not in front of a lady," she purred, her full, red lips forming a sultry smile.

Her microraptor warbled and ruffled its feathers as it shifted to a more comfortable position on her shoulder. Thace growled deep in his throat in growing frustration. The microraptor's warbling instantly became a warning caw. One of Merla's eyebrows rose to her hairline and she gave Thace a look of amused disdain before allowing the lift to move downwards once more.

"Don't worry," she said. "Your precious prince can catch the next lift down." She chuckled. "Who knows. He may even sprout wings and fly." At Thace's glare, she snorted. "I'd pay to see that."

"What do you want, Pythoness?" the subcommander demanded.

Her golden eyes widened in what could have been the perfect picture of innocence had the smirk vanished from her face. "Nothing," she said casually. "Can I not take the lift without getting questioned by the Galra? What have we come to?" she drawled, flipping her long red hair over her shoulders in a flirtatious manner.

"You never do anything without reason," Thace said, glaring at the trader suspiciously.

Merla pursed her lips and shrugged. "As it happens, my business here is complete," she said. "I have no reason to stay so I'm leaving. Although," her feline pupils focused on something on The Mistro's atrium floor, "I may get myself a drink before I go."

Thace snarled, but Merla was entirely unfazed.

"So," the trader said, "what could be so important that every Galra in the vicinity of The Mistro is suddenly on high alert?" Her unnatural eyes locked on the subcommander's, patiently waiting for an answer. When Thace didn't answer right away, she smiled teasingly. "You do realize I don't have to ask you what's going on," she said easily. "I was being courteous."

The subcommander sneered and broke their gaze. "The Sentinel presented himself to Lotor," he said reluctantly.

"Oh? He went to all that trouble to meet our darling prince face to face and managed to walk out the door without being stopped?" Merla said, her tone a mix of boredom and mild interest. "I'm impressed."

"He teleported," Thace said curtly. He bit back the feeling of smug satisfaction when Merla's gaze locked on him in rapt interest.

"Did he, indeed?" she purred. Her smile grew. "And how did he do that?"

"That costs, Pythoness," Thace snapped, hoping the woman would get the hint and mind her own business. He tolerated Merla because she was a well of information if her price was met, but he had little to no respect for her as a person. Why Romelle put up with the bitch was beyond Thace's comprehension.

Merla laughed. "Now you name a price?" she teased. "Alright. Name your price."

The floor level indicator flashed fifteen and Thace breathed a sigh of relief. Just a bit longer.

"Your next shipment for Lotor gets mysteriously lost," he said in clipped tones.

Merla snorted. "Over my dead body. But that was a nice try. I applaud your attempt."

She flashed a flirtatious smile at the subcommander accompanied by a wink before strolling easily out of the lift the moment the doors opened. Thace muttered a curse and raced out into the atrium past her. Something light and soft brushed his mind and he snarled, tossing a hateful glare over his shoulder at Merla. The triumphant smirk on her lips only fueled his anger.

He didn't bother to stop, though. He had to find the Sentinel and his son. He prayed the two were able to escape. He wasn't sure if he would be able to help them out if they were captured without endangering his cover. The Sentinel could not be captured.

 _Keithek,_ he prayed. _Keep your mate safe._

* * *

 _"Allura!"_

The princess froze two steps out of the lift from the VIP room when her true name rang in her ear from her communicator. "Keith?" she said, glancing around the lounge to be sure she was alone. Nyma and Rolo were nowhere in sight. They must have left the first chance they got.

 _"Get out of there,"_ Keith said urgently. _"Lotor knows we're here."_

"What?" Allura gasped. "How did he find you?"

"What is it?" Shiro asked softly, his dark gray eyes bright and alert. When he realized Allura was talking through her communicator, he opened his own channel. "Keith, is that you?" he asked.

 _"Shiro, are you with Allura?"_ Keith demanded.

"We're together, yes," the princess replied. "What's going on?"

 _"I'll explain later,"_ Keith said quickly. _"Allura, change your form and get out of there."_

"Change my… Why?" Allura asked in confusion.

 _"I'll tell you later,"_ Keith insisted. _"Just trust me. Change your form and get out of there. Both of you. Lotor's probably got every Galra soldier on Meserie after us by now."_

Allura paled, her gaze flicking around the lounge for a safe place to change her appearance without gaining too much attention. When she noticed a walkway leading to the eclectic garden in the center of the lounge behind the bar, she tapped Shiro's arm and made her way there, clutching the precious box holding the juniberry close to her chest. She didn't have to look to know Shiro was right behind her.

"Working on it," she said curtly, slipping into the oasis. "Why do I need to change, Keith?"

Both Allura and Shiro heard the put upon sigh Keith let out. _"Look, I can't tell you everything right now, but basically you look like someone Lotor's been hunting for a while,"_ the red paladin said. _"He may be hunting for me and Lance right now, but if he sees you he may stop what he's doing to catch you instead."_

"Why?" Shiro asked, genuinely confused and concerned.

The black paladin paused by a tall plant with broad, glossy, green leaves and huge flowers that looked suspiciously like carnivorous pitcher plants and let Allura move a bit further into the garden. Allura made a point to remain within Shiro's sight, but just out of sight of any of the patrons in the main lounge area.

 _"Shiro, I promise I'll explain everything later,"_ Keith groaned. _"But please, not now. Allura, are you out of there yet?"_

"Not yet," the princess said, setting the box with the juniberry on the ground next to her hesitantly. "I'm changing."

 _"Um, make your hair darker,"_ Keith suggested. _"Not brown, though. Or black. That's too close to brown. And hide your eye scales. Lotor will be looking for those."_

"Why would Lotor know about those?" Allura demanded, frantically trying to come up with a believable shift that fit what Keith implied Lotor would not be looking for. In her panic, she could feel her current form begin to lock in place. If she couldn't force herself to shift quickly, then she would be stuck in this form until she calmed down enough to focus her mind and complete a shift. Nothing came to mind.

"Two Galra just walked in the lounge where we are," Shiro reported, adopting a defensive crouch as he inched closer to Allura. "Keith, wha- Pri- Katie! Behind you!"

Allura spun around only to find herself mouth to mouth with a woman she did not know. She had a brief moment of shock before planting her hands on the woman's bare arms and tensing in preparation to push the woman away.

 _:Unless you want to be caught by the Galra,:_ an unknown female voice said in Allura's mind, _:then relax. Besides,:_ the voice teased, _:you'll need the practice if you intend to get anywhere if that boy toy of yours.:_

The woman cradled Allura's face with her hands, cupping the princess's pale cheeks in her palms and covering the tell-tale eye scales with her thumbs. Allura tensed when a rush of emotions and tingling sensations danced from her eye scales throughout her body. She shuddered and couldn't help it when her grip on the woman's arms twitched before easing, taking the time to actually _feel_ the smooth skin beneath her fingers.

Allura could feel the woman smile into the kiss. But the deep-throated chuckle filling her own mouth when the other woman's tongue delved into Allura's mouth startled her.

 _:Mm. So that's what those things do,:_ the woman purred, pressing her thumbs against the princess's eye scales once more. She nipped Allura's lip when the princess gasped at the sensation before diving in for another kiss. _:I like them.:_

"Let her go!" Shiro demanded furiously.

"What's going on here?" a new voice shouted from the direction of the bar.

Allura tried to break the kiss and step back only for the woman to wrap one arm around her waist and hold her in place, preventing her from escaping. The other hand slipped easily into Allura's currently blonde hair just far enough for her fingers to tangle in the golden strands but her palm still covered the princess's pink eye scale.

 _:Stay,:_ the woman said, pressing Allura still closer.

"Hey!" Shiro shouted close to Allura's ear. "Let her go!"

"Easy, pretty boy," the woman said, finally releasing Allura from the unexpected lip-lock. She grinned and tilted her head in a way that could only be called seductive. "I haven't forgotten you, handsome," the woman said, freeing one of her hands and pulling Shiro's face to hers, kissing him now.

Surprised, Allura just blinked and watched. This was not what she had expected.

 _:You're adorable and naïve,:_ the woman whispered in Allura's mind.

Allura watched as her black paladin's struggles slowed but the tension in his form did not fade. Then the woman's thumb brushed the princess's eye scale again and her thoughts stuttered to an inelegant stop.

"What is going on here?" the new voice said again, this time from only a short distance behind Allura.

Shiro jerked back, breaking the kiss and moved to prepare a defense for an anticipated attack, only to be yanked back into the unknown woman's embrace. His dark gray eyes whipped to the woman's angrily, only to widen in shock. Shiro looked up at Allura as if silently begging for an explanation. Allura had none.

"Well, I was about to take these two lovely people to bed," the woman said, aiming a venomous glare at the intruding Galra. "But you are killing the mood. Go somewhere else."

The Galra soldier stiffened, clearly not sure what to make of the scene. His helmeted head moved side to side as he glanced between Shiro and Allura. A blush worked its way into the lower half of his face that was visible beneath the visor. Refusing to back down immediately, he grit his teeth and straightened.

"This is a public area," he said. "Take your…business elsewhere."

"I'm sorry, do you own this establishment?" the woman asked, eyeing the soldier with open disdain. "Why don't you turn around and take _your_ business elsewhere. You're intruding." She licked her luscious lips and let her golden feline eyes flick back to Allura appreciatively. "Besides," she added, pulling Shiro's face close to her neck at the same time she leaned down so her lips brushed the princess's, "we were here first. And _I'm_ a paying customer."

Allura didn't need to look to know the Galra left. The heavy footfalls of the armored boots thudded heavily on the garden pathway. Then her lips were busy once more and the thumb went back to brushing her eye scale. Too soon the kiss stopped and the woman stepped back, not quite releasing her hold on either Allura and Shiro.

"I meant what I said," the woman said with a smug grin. "If you want, we can make a quick stop in one of the VIP rooms here. I know the owner and I doubt he'd mind too much."

"That won't be necessary," Shiro said, stepping completely out of the woman's hold and glaring at her. He rubbed his mouth, wiping away the saliva that dripping down his chin. "We were just leaving."

"Nonsense," the woman said. "I doubt Keith will mind an extra guest."

"You know Keith?" Shiro demanded.

"Relax, Champion," the woman said in the same tone a mother would use to discipline a disobedient child. "I won't be staying. And please, for the love of my sanity, _please_ stop referring to me as 'the woman,' Allura dear," the wo- person said. "Call me Merla."

Merla.

Merla's unusual eyes glanced at Allura and she smiled. "Yes. I much prefer you using my name to 'the woman,'" she said again. "Now, this way. Don't forget your new pet plant. Keith worked so hard to get that, after all."

She turned her back on the utterly befuddled duo and lifted a crooked finger in a 'come hither' motion and began walking down the path towards another exit. Allura hesitated for a moment, glancing at Shiro who appeared just as thrown by the unexpected turn of events as she was. He looked at her for guidance but she had no answer. So she shrugged, picked up the juniberry box, and followed after Merla.

 _:A wise decision,:_ Merla's mental voice murmured in Allura's voice.

The princess narrowed her eyes. _:How are you doing this?:_ she asked as best she could, forcing the words to form clearly in her mind.

"Please stop," Merla groaned. "Your mental voice is like a child trying to use adult words. It's ridiculous."

"Then why speak to me like that?" Allura asked aloud.

Merla shrugged. "Because it's convenient," she said, holding out her left arm at a right angle from her torso.

Before Allura could ask about the odd motion, a feathered raptor swooped down from one of the tall plants overhead and landed on Merla's arm. Its talons locked firmly around Merla's faintly purple skin and scooted up to settle comfortably on her shoulder. The microraptor fluffed its feathers, brushing Merla's cheek with one of its wings.

"Is that an…archaeopteryx?" Shiro gasped.

The princess glanced at the black paladin in confusion. "You know what that is?" she asked.

Shiro hesitated. "I… It looks like the drawings I've seen of an archaeopteryx," he said. "We've found fossils of them but they've been extinct for millennia back home."

"Yes," Merla said softly, just loud enough for them to heard. "I would love to hear more about this home planet of yours. Consider it payment for saving your two smegs back there."

"We didn't ask for that," Shiro said, narrowing his eyes in controlled anger.

"Not out loud, you didn't," Merla corrected, glancing back at him briefly. "Your minds, however, were so loud I couldn't block them out. I was going to ignore you and continue on my merry way."

"What changed?" Allura asked suspiciously.

"I heard Keith's voice in your mind," Merla answered readily. "I have a personal interest in our little halfbreed friend. And then I saw your lovely face," she said.

Merla stopped before stepping out into the lounge area of Den Resistance and turned back so she faced the princess. She lifted a hand and trailed two fingers down Allura's cheek.

"Keith was right, you know," Merla said. "You really should change your form." She cradled Allura's chin delicately between her fingers, angling the princess's face so they stared eye to eye. "Lotor and I have a…history with someone who looks very much like you at the moment. If you value your life as well as your companion's, then I suggest you change your skin color at the very least."

Merla tapped her finely trimmed fingernail against Allura's eye scale and grinned at the resulting twitch. "Since these are pink, why not make your skin pink?" she suggested. "It will hide these very distinct scales which practically announce your true race to anyone who knows what to look for. Lotor is one of those people. Granted you may not be this Sentinel he's looking for, but this appearance is…just as eye catching. You understand."

"I don't, actually," Allura said, glancing cautiously around at the lounge.

She swallowed and forced herself to relax. Changing her skin color was a little thing which shouldn't require too much concentration and effort. Sure enough, she felt the soothing sensation of a shift and instinctively knew her skin was now the same shade as her eye scales.

"Much better," Merla said with a sly grin. "Now, one more question. Feel free to think about it as we walk to your ship. You do have a ship, don't you?" She waited for Allura to nod before continuing. "Keith traded for that plant with the intention of giving it to his mate. Since I know you're not Keith's mate, I have to ask: why do you have it?"

Allura narrowed her eyes but didn't have the chance to formulate an answer before Merla wrapped manicured fingers around her wrist and pulled her through The Mistro and out into the semi-open air of Meserie with Shiro by her side.


	103. PART 4 - 103: Self-Control

**A/N:** The flames from several different fires are all being fanned in this chapter. The next couple chapters may result in burns. But don't worry, dear readers. I'll make to pour warm water over those burns in the form of plot and angst. Just you wait~

Side note:

If anyone wants me to write a separate but related oneshot for the pairing hinted at at the end of this chapter, let me know and I'll start working on it. It could be my Valentine's Day present to y'all. Who knows~ **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Keithek struggles to control himself, Allura tries to regain some control, and Merla chooses to have self-control later, not now. **  
**

* * *

 **103: Self-Control**

Keithek had no idea what was going on on the other end of the comms, but judging by the squishing sounds and soft moaning he had a good guess. Although who was kissing who and why was not something he should be thinking about at the moment. Right now, his hands were literally full of a possibly drugged Altean prince who simply could not sit still to save his life.

Since they'd arrived at the pod Keithek's stomach had been shifting weirdly. He never wanted to teleport ever again. He wasn't sure he would survive the venture. The contents of his stomach certainly wouldn't survive the trip. It was by some sheer stroke of luck that he wasn't throwing up not. Yet.

Lance wasn't much better. The moment they materialized in the pod, the prince had immediately put some distance between himself and Keithek. He backed up, pressing himself into the far corner and shrank in on himself, curling into a ball on the floor with his arms wrapped around his bent legs. When Keithek first tried to approach him, Lance had let out a weak whimper and tightened his muscles in an obvious flinch.

The sight hurt but Keithek knew better than to push Lance too far too soon. Besides, Allura and Shiro weren't aware that he and Lance had made a personal visit to Lotor, announcing their presence to the Galran prince. Keithek understood Lance's reasons and believed him when the blue paladin promised he would be able to make a quick escape should he need to. Those were the only reasons why he hadn't tried harder to stop Lance from going.

He was regretting that decision. Keithek had expected a form of special treatment from Lotor; most of those involving unpleasant talks. Keithek had been fully prepared to fight Lotor hand to hand if he had to. But when Lotor didn't make a move to arrest either one of them the moment they stepped into the Galran prince's chambers, Keithek had been thrown for a loop. When Lotor molested his mate, Keithek had reacted on instinct.

He was still upset with his father for preventing him from jumping to Lance's defense. He knew Thace was only maintaining his cover and obeying Lance's orders to do his best to prevent them from escaping, but that did nothing to ease the frustration bubbling just beneath the surface.

Seeing Lance now in such a vulnerable position was not something Keithek enjoyed. Not by a long shot. In unnerved him. Lance rarely lost his nerve. Keithek could count on one hand the number of time Lance had given in to fear and…and…

What… What was that smell?

Keithek froze in the middle of the pod, his adrenaline induced pacing coming to an abrupt halt. His ears were flipped up, fully alert and twitching at the slightest sound. But it wasn't the sounds he heard so much as the scents he smelled. One scent in particular stood out from the rest. It was spice, musk, and something else, something he couldn't place. He had never smelled it before but… Not. No, that wasn't true, He _had_ smelled this particular scent before. It had been the underlying smell in the trader Merla's rooms in The Mistro. It had practically punched him square in the nose when he opened the box containing the juniberry plant.

That same scent was mingling with the scents Keithek associated with his mate and filling the pod. It made Keithek's mouth water and frell if he didn't want to taste it. Was this what an aroused Lance smelled like? Frakking frell, Keithek was fucked.

He slapped a hand over his nose and tried very hard to focus past the dizzying scent permeating the pod's interior. The air may be circulating but it wasn't doing anything to mitigate the heady scent. He may have groaned. Maybe. Possibly.

"Keith."

Quiznak.

He turned to his mate who was currently staring directly at him. The natural eye was partially glazed from whatever drug was shooting through his system. It wasn't deadly, was it? Why that only just now occurring to him?

Keithek dropped to his knees and cradled Lance's face in his hands, holding his head steady and studying his mate closely. Lance's skin was a bit warmer than Keithek was used to. There was still an underlying cold tingling just beneath the feverish warmth, but it was muted as if felt through gloves or a thin jacket.

There Keithek's observations ended because Lance let his eyelids droop shut and his head lolled in the red paladin's hands in an obvious nuzzle. It wasn't at all what Keithek expected. Was this supposed to happen? Or was this not? What…?

He thought back to what he could remember Lotor saying before he'd gotten too angry to pay attention to individual words. What could affect Lance or anyone like this? Was this a generic drug? Lotor mentioned something about confirming Lance's Altean race because the drink didn't affect him by giving him hallucinations or the like.

Keithek stiffened. Juniberry. Had there been juniberry in the drink Lotor gave Lance? But how could that be? Lotor had taken a drink of the brew himself before giving it to the blue paladin. Keithek watched him. Lotor had swallowed. If there really had been juniberry in the drink and Lotor himself claimed only an Altean would have been immune to the hallucinations it caused, then how the frell had Lotor been unaffected? Unless Lotor had Altean blood.

The realization hit the red paladin like a sucker punch, knocking the air out of him and sending a rush of adrenaline racing through his system. That was not something he would ever have imagined in a million periods.

The next teck, Keithek didn't have the chance to imagine anything because Lance unwrapped himself and threw himself into the red paladin's embrace. Not expecting the sudden move, Keithek sat stock still. His mind raced a span a tick but his reactions seemed stuck in a gravity well. What-?

A sharp inhale sent the scent shooting through his nostrils like a cannon. His alpha instincts which he'd fought so hard to control suddenly clawed their way back to the forefront of his consciousness. He had to bite his tongue hard enough to draw blood to prevent losing himself to that side of him. This was neither the time nor the place for anything like that. He didn't even know what was going on let alone know how to handle this mess. Not only that, but Lance was in no shape to fully comprehend the consequences of his actions and Keithek was in no rush to rub that in.

"Keith."

Oh. This was not going to be easy. It took all of the red paladin's concentration to keep his head up, his gaze pinned on the interior wall of the pod, his alpha instincts under strict control, and his hands still on Lance's back. Everything within him was singing for him to give in to the instincts that governed the Galra race and rut against his mate until Lance was full and both of them were sated.

But he wouldn't let that happen. Not here, not now.

Keithek was a halfbreed and his mother's people had none of the base instincts that were integral to the Galra. That gave him something of an advantage in this inner battle. His father had managed to resist the instincts, refusing to mate Keithek's mother. It had been a wise decision, but Keithek could only imagine the pain and sheer force of will required to accomplish such a feat. Keithek was just a halfbreed and this was a battle he wasn't sure he could win.

Shiro. Allura. By every Lion and paladin to ever exist in this universe, get here faster.

* * *

Allura clutched the juniberry box close to her and walked with the aire of calm and poise just like she'd been trained to by her father. She kept her shoulder back and her back straight. She had every right to be here. She surreptitiously glanced at Shiro walking next to her and felt pride swell in her chest when she took note of the confident way the black paladin held himself. He strolled in a deceptively relaxed pace, casually looking around at the sights of Meserie like a first time visitor.

Merla, however, out did both Allura and Shiro. Her confident smirk never left her face as she flowed through the crowd. Allura may have a right to be here, but Merla _belonged_ here. Honestly, if planets could be personified, Allura was certain Merla would be Meserie. The traders walking by eyed Merla with a mix of awe and something else. Was that fear? The traders clearly respected Merla, but they still gave her a wide berth. Wherever she walked, the others avoided. It was disconcerting.

"Is there a reason why they're avoiding you?" Allura asked eyeing the wary traders cautiously.

The Galra were already hunting her and her team in droves. The last thing she needed on her plate of things to worry about right now was to catch the Galra's attention simply by walking with someone why stood out from the crowd.

Merla, however, seem to have no such concerns. She snorted inelegantly. "They know better than to mess with me," she said, flicking her golden gaze to the Altean princess with a sly smile. "The world of the trader is a complex one, Allura."

"Don't use that-"

"I'll use what name I wish to use, Champion," Merla said, her gaze flashing to the black paladin warningly before returning to the road ahead. The microraptor on her shoulder however, kept its suspicious gaze on Shiro.

"As I was saying," she said, rolling her shoulders comfortably, "the trading community is both vast and complex utilizing a form of hierarchy based on skill, fairness, trade integrity, and customer satisfaction. By those standards, I'm practically royalty."

"I doubt a 'royal' trader would get this kind of reaction," the Altean princess said, lifting her eyebrow wryly. "It looks less like they respect you so much as-"

"Hate me?" Merla asked easily. "Fear me? Dislike me?" She snickered. "It's probably any one of those things, or all of them, or a combination of them. I have quite a few high paying patrons."

"That's it?" Shiro said in a flat voice. His expression clearly showed how much he believed that was all to the story.

"Well," Merla added with a tilt of her head, "I suppose I forgot to mention a small fact that may be the source of their discomfort."

"And that would be?" the black paladin demanded.

"Are you paying?" Merla shot back with a teasing grin.

Shiro sniffed and glared at the trader; his silence answer enough.

"What sort of payment do you want?" Allura asked curiously.

The red-haired woman studied the currently pink skinned princess with renewed interest. When Merla's full lips pulled up at the corners, Allura knew she had passed some test. She just wished she knew what sort of test it was and whether it was a good thing she passed it.

"You came here to do more than get that silly little plant, didn't you?" Merla asked, nodding to the box Allura still held protectively. The princess nodded cautiously. "Good. What did you bring to trade?"

"Some jewelry mostly," she admitted. "I did bring a couple other things, but I think my overprotective sibling took those out and hid them somewhere." She sighed heavily. "I'll have to go look for those when I get back to the ship."

"I'm sure," Merla said with a smirk. "Nothing else?"

"I have a few precious stones left, I think," Allura said, going through what was left in her trading bag she left in the pod. "And a bottle of Kadesh."

"I'll take the Kadesh," Merla said promptly in a tone that implied should wouldn't accept it any other way. "In answer to your question, Champion, I deal in something most traders find detestable. But the market for it large enough to attract and hold my attention. My supplier is reliable and dealing it has put me in a place of power over a surprising number of people in the upper echelons of the universal society."

"And what would this detestable product be?" Shiro pressed.

"Drugs," Merla answered easily, giving the stunned paladin a wink. "Specifically, one drug. Congratulations my dears. You've just joined the ranks of my drug using clientele. Although," she added with a smirk, "I doubt you'll be using it to get high. As I understand it, the juniberry has some sort of physiological effect on Alteans that's necessary for their survival in some way. Is that true?" she asked, aiming her question at the princess.

Allura nodded hesitantly, tightening her hold on the box and its precious contents. "The plant contains a hormone our bodies can't produce naturally but require for many things," she said. "The most pressing of which is our ability to reproduce."

Merla's smile faded somewhat. "I would keep that information to yourself, if I were you," she said. "Although you aren't my primary client, you're still both indirectly my clients which means I have qualms with letting you in on a little secret. The universe is not friendly. It may awe and inspire you, but there are those who live in it who don't give a Galra's smeg about your existence. In fact, I'd wager certain individuals would pay handsomely if you were somehow made permanently incapable of reproducing."

Allura's pink skin visibly paled, taking what comfort she could in Shiro's reassuring presence by her side.

"I bet Zarkon would love that," the black paladin muttered angrily under his breath.

"Zarkon might," Merla agreed. "But I doubt his son would."

"What do you mean?" Allura asked breathlessly.

"Lotor is a unique specimen by himself," Merla said. "But since he's one of my biggest clients, I'm afraid I can't tell you much more than that."

She came to a stop at the lift, stepping onto the pad when it reached their level. She didn't speak again until they reached the landing pad. Allura followed the trader past the dozens of Galra soldiers searching the Sentinel.

"Keith's mate paid a little visit to Lotor and I don't think the prince took their abrupt departure kindly," Merla said, reaching up to smooth out her microraptor's feathers. The creature's sharp beak nibbled her fingers fondly in return as she did so.

"They did what?" Shiro demanded, overpowering Allura gasp of shock.

Merla seemed outward disinterested in the emotional displays, choosing to examine a fingernail instead. "It's possible Lance drank something that will agree with him too well," she continued as if she hadn't been interrupted. "It's a concoction Lotor brews himself. Its base is the juice from pressed juniberries, but it's been enhanced by additives to mask the plant's flavor and encourage addictiveness. Since you and Keith's mate are both Altean, the addictiveness shouldn't be a problem. I doubt there will be any lasting problems. Although…"

She paused to look over in the direction of Allura's pod. After a moment, a toothy grin stretched across her face. "I suggest you leave as soon as you're able," she said. "I doubt Keith will be able to control himself much longer. The Galra aren't exactly known for controlling their instincts, after all."

"Wha-"

Without bothering to finish her question, Allura bolted past Merla towards her pod. She fumbled with the juniberry box in her hands while she struggled to enter the code to unlock and open the pod door, dreading what she would see. Eventually, she was forced to give the box to Shiro to hold so she could properly key in the passcode. She bot back a cheer when the mechanical door hissed open.

It actually wasn't as bad as she'd feared it would be. Keith sat on his knees with Lance sitting in his laps, straddling one of the red paladin's thighs. Lance draped his body over the halfbreed's like a limp blanket. Keith instantly spun to face the princess when she entered, clutching his mate close. That's when Allura noticed the subtle shivers dancing up and down her sibling's body.

"What happened?" she demanded.

"Not now," Shiro said, climbing into the pod behind her. "We need to get out of here right now. Whatever's wrong with Lance," he said, making his way towards the pilot's seat and preparing the pod for takeoff, "we'll be better able to fix it at the Castle."

"If you were listening to anything I said, you should know there's nothing wrong with him," Merla said, appearing behind the princess.

Keith tensed, focusing his full attention on the trader. The microraptor on Merla's shoulder gave a hoarse cry and Keith flinched.

"Why's he acting like this?" Keith demanded.

"You sound odd, Keith," Merla said in mock sympathy. "Are you well? Trouble breathing perhaps?"

The red paladin glared at the trader viciously, growling deep in his throat.

Merla merely clucked. "I'd control that, if I were you," she scolded. "Let yourself slip, and you'll find it harder to stop your fall."

"What do you mean?" Allura said. "What are you talking about?"

Merla smiled. "Get the Kadesh for me," she said pointedly to Allura.

The princess hurried to the bag of items she'd dropped behind the co-pilot's seat and dug through it before pulling out a small bottle of Kadesh. She stood and handed it to the trader who winked.

"Consider our trade complete," Merla said. "Good luck." She glanced at Keith significantly. "I'd say sleep well, but I doubt you'll be sleeping much tonight."

With that, the trader turned on her heel and left.

Allura didn't waste any time. She closed and locked the pod door and slid into the co-pilot's seat next to the black paladin. "Shiro, get us out of here," she commanded.

"Yes ma'am," was the last thing Allura heard before the pod's engines ignited and they lifted off the ground, soaring up to the access gate with a fleet of other outbound ships. Hopefully their small vessel would be overlooked in the crowd. She could hope.

* * *

Merla watched the small pod weave through the rising cloud of outbound ships, toying with the Kadesh she now possessed. The temptation to use it on herself was there, but she had a strong sense of self-control. Sometimes. She scratched her microraptor absently as she strode over to one of the skypaths. Her ship was docked at another landing platform nearby. It wasn't a long walk there via skypath.

Her companion was probably sitting obediently in his bunk onboard, waiting for her to return. Merla fingered the Kadesh again and pursed her lips. She really hadn't had a decent romp in a while. The employee who met her at The Mistro wasn't as fun as she'd hoped he'd be which was a disappointment. Oh well.

Better luck next time. At least now, she could pay a visit to her supplier. A little microrpator told her the Leader was in need of some Kadesh. If the Traders weren't going to get off their smegs and deliver the merchandise fast enough, she would simply have to fill in. Not that she minded, of course. Still, she would have liked to try her Kadesh out. She knew from experience that sex while on Kadesh was incredible, even if the act itself would normally be anything but.

A blur of yellow caught Merla's attention. Yellow wasn't exactly an uncommon color here on Meserie, but not many bipedal races were yellow. Teiidae were often yellow, though. She focused her mind in the yellow Teiidae's direction. Nyma.

Merla huffed a laugh. What were the odds? Wouldn't it be amusing if Nyma was just as interested in trying out her Kadesh as well? Not that Merla had any. But if Nyma did, wouldn't it be mutually beneficial to make sure it was the real thing and not some cheap knockoff?

Nyma glanced in Merla's direction and locked eyes with the red haired woman. Merla smiled coyly and approached.

"I heard you have some Kadesh," she said.

The Teiidae trader narrowed her lidless blue eyes in suspicion. "What's it to you?" she demanded, crossing her arms.

Merla smiled, her microraptor taking flight and gliding away to land on the small robot buzzing next to Nyma. "I'm afraid I have a bit of a problem," she confessed, her feline pupils widening. "I was hoping you wouldn't mind helping a girl out."

"What the price?" Nyma asked curtly.

Tossing her long, red hair over her shoulder so it hung down over her chest, Merla clicked her tongue and took a step forward so she was very much in Nyma's personal space. She presented her own, newly acquired bottle of Kadesh to the Teiidae trader with a sly grin. "I happen to have some Kadesh as well," she said. "But you must understand, I have to make sure it's the real thing. I can't very well hand over less than top-notch merchandise. I need to test it." She looked up at Nyma's blue eyes from beneath her dark lashes. "Join me?"

The Teiidae slipped her long tongue across her lips, considering the offer. "No strings attached?" she asked.

"None," Merla agreed. "My word as a Trader."

Nyma grinned. "I hear you have a room in The Mistro," she said. "Never stayed there before."

Merla lifted her brows coyly. "I suppose there's a first time for everything," she said. "And everyone."

"Then lead on," Nyma said.

Maybe this wouldn't be such a bad side trip after all.


	104. PART 4 - 104: Ultimatum

**A/N:** It's official: Lotor is my new favorite bad guy to write. This is going to be so much fun. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Shiro flies like a maniac, the Lions get a workout, and Lotor issues an ultimatum that Keithek does _not_ like. **  
**

* * *

 **104: Ultimatum**

"If we keep close to the larger ships in this fleet, we should be okay," Shiro said, angling the small pod close to the underbelly of the third largest cargo ship in the group. It was too much of a risk to hide near the largest; that would be one of the first places the Galra would probably start looking for them. They couldn't dart around with the other pods of similar size either because they would stand out. They would have to burn time until the gate in the particle barrier opened to outbound traffic. Hopefully that wouldn't be too long.

"Good idea," Allura said, her eyes scanning the skies for any Galra ships in the group. So far, there were none. "Lance?" she called, glancing briefly over her shoulder at her brother still clinging to the red paladin on the floor in the back of the pod. "How are you doing?"

Lance groaned. "Fine," he muttered.

"This isn't the time for glossing things over, Lance," Shiro said curtly, his gaze locked on the skies outside the view screen for any signs of the Galra.

"I'm not 'glossing' anything over," Lance said in mild annoyance. "I'm fine."

"Lance-" Keith began.

"I'm telling you _I'm fine!"_ Lance insisted. "I really am fine. Better than fine. _Much_ better than fine. Super fine. By the Lions, I feel magnificent."

Shiro's brows dropped low over his eyes in confusion. He looked over his shoulder at the duo. "Are you… Are you tripping?" he asked in disbelief.

Lance lifted his face from where he's buried it in Keith's chest and stared at the black paladin. "Am I what?" he asked. "I am literally on the ground cuddling Keith like one of Coran's yelmors. How the frell am I supposed to trip? I'm not even moving."

A faint flush of annoyance darkened Shiro's cheeks. "Alright. How 'bout this," he grumbled. "Are you on drugs?"

"I…" The Altean prince hesitate, his mouth slamming shut. "Huh. Not…really?" he said.

The black paladin rolled his eyes. "What did you do?" he asked in the same tone a father would use on a wayward child.

It was the blue paladin's turn to flush in embarrassment. "I love how you automatically assume _I'm_ the one that did something."

"Did you do something?" Shiro asked.

Lance groaned loudly. "Who _doesn't_ do something?" he countered in frustration.

"Lance," Shiro warned.

"I'm fine!" the prince moaned, tightening his hold on his mate drawing out a tense growl from the halfbreed. "Just leave me alone."

"Lance, this is serious," Allura tried before Shiro could fire a sharp comeback at the petulant prince. "We need to know if you're alright."

"He drank something Lotor gave him and he's been weird ever since," Keith snapped. "That's it, alright? Not just… Stop asking so he stops moving. I'm having a hard enough time fighting this as it is without him moving around and making it worse!"

The princess blinked, her mouth forming a small 'o' of surprise. "Keith?" she asked hesitantly. "What's wrong?"

"Frakking frell, just _stop!"_

"Keith?" Allura whispered, hurt by the red paladin's pained shout. What could possibly be affecting the halfbreed like this?

"Galra!" Shiro shouted just as an alarm began beeping a warning in the pod's small compartment. "Hang on, guys."

He gripping the controls and pushed them forwards, forcing the pod into a steep dive just barely dodging a series of red plasma bolts fired from a small Galra fighter. Allura gripped her seat when the g-forces plastered her against her pilot seat. She held on tight as the pod dove towards the ground, pulling up at the very last minute and swerving to the right which threw her to the left.

There was a loud boom accompanied by a bright flash of light and smoke. A few Galra fighters clearly hadn't managed to change their trajectory fast enough to avoid crashing into the ground. She hoped no one on the ground had been hurt.

She didn't have the chance to dwell on that thought because the next tick, the pod was climbing steeply, trying to rejoin the fleet of outbound ships. If they could get through the gate in the particle barrier protecting the settlement, then they would have more room to maneuver and the chance of involving any innocent bystanders would diminish drastically.

"Allura," the black paladin said before the princess could scold Keith for his words. "Try contacting Coran. We'll need to make a quick getaway."

"I'll contact Coran and have him get the Castle ready for us."

She quickly tapped in the frequency code for the Castle's communications systems and opened a channel. "Coran," she called. "This is Al- Katie," she corrected with a quick glance at Shiro. "The Galra know we're here. We're waiting for the gate to open so we can get out of here. Get the Castle ready for a wormhole jump."

* * *

"So there _could_ be something there?" Hunk asked.

"Well, technically, yes," the Altean advisor said, adjusting the visual on the bridge's large view screen so the three celestial bodies became clearer. "There's always a chance something could be hiding there. But it's unlikely any ship or base or anything like that would be located here. There aren't any signs of life that the ship's sensors can detect and nothing is in orbit around the planets."

"What about the planetoid-moon-thing?" Pidge asked, leaning closer to the smaller readout, pushing her glasses further up her nose as she did so.

"Nope, nothing," Coran chirped. He stepped back from the control panel and looked over the green paladin's shoulder. "Is that really what you two are going to keep calling it?" he asked mildly.

"Definitely," Pidge said.

"So there _is_ a chance something could be there," Hunk said, "we just can't see it."

"Not from here, no," Coran said, looking back at the yellow paladin regretfully. "Something could be jamming our scans, I suppose. There's always a chance that could be happening, but…" He shrugged and faced the large view screen again with a sigh. "I gues we'll just have to go there and take a look around in person to be sure."

"Whoo!" Pidge cheered, punching her fist in the air excitedly. "Space road trip!"

"I'll make the snacks," Hunk laughed jovially.

 _"Coran!"_

"Huh?" Pidge straightened and looked around the bridge. "Allura? Is that you?" she called.

 _"Yes! Yes, it's me, Pidge,"_ Allura's voice said. _"Can you hear me?"_

"Loud and clear, princess," the advisor said proudly. "What seems to be the problem?"

 _"Get the Castle ready for a wormhole jump,"_ the princess commanded in clipped, worried tones.

"Oh! Yes! Right away," Coran cried, darting back to his control panel to prepare the Castle's systems for both a wormhole jump and a potential battle. Never could be too careful.

"Why?" Hunk asked. "What happened? Are you guys okay?"

 _"We're fine for now,"_ Shiro said. _"But the Galra found out we're here."_

"What did Lance do?" Pidge said in a flat voice, slumping in annoyance.

 _"…shut up…"_ The words were faint but the pod's microphone caught them and Hunk would recognize that voice anywhere.

"Lance? You there?" the yellow paladin called.

 _"He's here,"_ Allura said. _"He's just a bit…preoccupied at the moment."_

"Do I want to know?" Pidge asked dubiously.

 _"Not sure yet,"_ the black paladin answered honestly.

"Naturally," Pidge grumbled.

 _"There's probably a Galra battlecruiser in orbit around the planet,"_ the princess said. _"Prince Lotor is here. I doubt he would travel in anything less than that. One of you check the scanners. See if you can see the battlecruiser from your hiding place in the planet's atmosphere."_

"I can try," Coran said, typing away at the Altean keyboard in the control panel. "The scanners don't detect anything yet. But it's highly possible the battlecruiser could be on the other side of the planet."

"Right," Pidge said, nodding. "It could be using the planet of Meserie as a shield, kind of like we're using this gas giant as our cover."

"Or," Hunk said, pointing to something in the upper right hand corner of the view screen, "it was in orbit with the other ships and broke formation."

 _"Which is it?"_ Shiro demanded.

"The latter," Coran said, gritting his teeth when a large, Galra battlecruiser emerged from the other side of Meserie.

"It appears to be dropping to an orbit closer to the planet's equator," Pidge said.

 _"Damn,"_ Shiro muttered. _"It's waiting for us."_

"Don't worry Shiro," Hunk said. "We'll cover you."

"Yeah," Pidge said. "I haven't had a chance to blow some Galra fighters into oblivion in a while. The Green Lion and I could use the practice."

Hunk laughed. "While I'm not excited about the fighting part, I admit I do need to practice," he said, scratching his head awkwardly. "Yellow's been on my case about that."

 _"One of you get a healing pod ready too,"_ the black paladin added. _"Just in case."_

 _"That won't do any good,"_ Lance's voice said, sounding fainter than Shiro's or Allura's voices.

 _"It's just a precaution, Lance,"_ Shiro said in a reassuring voice.

 _"And I'm telling you, the precaution won't do anything,"_ the blue paladin insisted. His insistent retort was following almost immediately by a yelp and a loud thud.

"What was that?" Coran cried.

"Please tell me you're all okay," Hunk pleaded.

 _"Ugh! We're fine for now,"_ Shiro grunted. _"We made it through the gate, but we've got a tail."_

 _"I'm counting four Galra fighters,"_ Allura said.

"On it!" Pidge shouted, racing out of the bridge. "Hunk! Get in your Lion. We'll give them some cover."

 _"Thanks,"_ Shiro said through gritted. _"That would be a lot of help."_

"I'm bringing to Castle out of the gas giant's atmosphere," Coran said as the green and yellow paladin darted out of the bridge. "I'll keep the particle barrier up until the last possible moment. We have enough energy reserves to face that battlecruiser for a few tecks, but that's about it."

 _"That should be enough,"_ the princess said. _"We're almost to Meserie's upper atmosphere now."_

* * *

Keithek grunted when another sharp turn caused the g-forces to slam him back first against the far wall of the pod. His claws still clung to his mate's shirt, dragging Lance along with him. When the prince crashed into Keithek's chest, it almost knocked the wind out of him. Thank the Lions Keithek had been tensed anyway so the impact didn't cause as much harm as it would have had he been caught unawares.

He did cough though.

"Well, this isn't exactly comfortable," Lance muttered, shifting against Keithek's body in an effort to push himself up to his hands and knees. "Allura!"

"Bit busy, Lance," the princess said, aiming the pod's sole weapon at the nearest Galra fighter. "Make it quick."

"Turn the inertial dampener to a higher setting," Lance cried, bracing himself when another sharp turn practically flung him into the back of Allura seat. "Before we all break our necks from Shiro's reckless flying."

"I am a great pilot," Shiro snapped distractedly.

"Then focus on flying and not arguing," Keithek interrupted.

"Everyone's a critic," the black paladin said not so quietly, rolling the pod into another aerobatic maneuver that resulted in two Galra fighters crashing into each other.

Keithek locked his jaw and scrambled up to a sitting position only to feel the floor beneath him suddenly become steadier. He felt more firmly planted to the floor than he had before. He looked up and Shiro was still executing artful dodging maneuvers, but the g-forces weren't anywhere near as strong as they had been. He breathed a sigh of relief, regretting it instantly when he took a deep breath in. Lance's scent was still unusually potent. This was going to be a log trip.

Then a familiar, solid beam of blue energy blazed across the main view screen, blasting a Galra fighter into oblivion.

 _"Green and Yellow here to whoop some Galra ass,"_ Pidge's voice said over the comm unit.

 _"We've gotcha covered, Shiro,"_ Hunk said proudly.

"And just in the tick of time. Thank you, paladins," Allura said gratefully, firing another bolt at a fighter that got too close.

Another alarm, this one an insistent chime sounded in the pod cockpit.

 _"What's that?"_ Hunk asked. _"Is that coming from your end?"_

"It's an incoming transmission," Allura said, staring at the readout on the dashboard in confusion. "I don't understand. Who would be trying to contact us?"

"Audio only or visual too?" Shiro demanded, bringing the pod out from the Yellow Lion's left flank.

"Both," Allura said. After another tick, she gasped. "It's Galra."

Keithek scrambled up to the pilot seat. There were only two people he could think of who were both Galra and have an interest in trying to contact them. One option wasn't too bad, but the other option was the last thing they needed. He grabbed the princess's shoulder and yanked her over the seta's arm just two ticks before the view screen changed. Shiro's side of the view screen maintained the usual readouts and visuals required to fly the pod efficiently. The other half of the view screen, the side that was directly in front of the seat the Altean princess had occupied until Keithek dragged her to the floor of the pod, filled with a Galra face. But this wasn't just any Galra.

"Lotor," Keithek growled viciously.

The Galran prince grinned, flashing his sharp teeth. _"Halfbreed,"_ Lotor said smoothly. His golden eyes shifted to the black paladin still flying the pod and his grin grew. _"And the Champion,"_ he said, a note of interest in his voice. _"I'm surprised to see you fall in with this crowd, Champion. You always struck me as being better than that."_

"Better than fighting in a goddamned arena with lowlifes like you?" Shiro said sharply. "Damn right, I'm better than that." Then an unexpectedly dark smirk wormed its way onto the black paladin's face and he glanced at Lotor's image smugly. "I actually get a good fight this way."

The Galran prince's expression twisted in fury. _"I'd watch your words if I were you, Champion,"_ he hissed.

"Don't tell him what to do," Lance said suddenly from next to Keithek.

Startled, the red paladin whipped his gaze to his mate. He glanced back at the pod's floor where Allura was currently sitting in her bottom, propping herself up on her hands which were braced on the floor behind her while her legs were sprawled inelegantly in front of her. Her pink skin looked deceptively darker in her brother's shadow. Her mouth was set in a grim line and her gaze was cold with pent up fury. She obviously wasn't happy with being kept out of this.

Too bad, Keithek thought. It was for the best. She was their trump card. They couldn't afford to reveal her yet. Doing so would throw an even bigger wrench in the works.

 _"Sentinel."_

Keithek turned his hard gaze back to the view screen and bared his teeth in a snarl. He could feel his ears pinning back against his head and his hands flex instinctively, dearly wishing he had the bastard prince's face beneath his claws. He knew Lotor recognized Keithek's display, which made the prince's dismissal all the more offensive.

 _"You left so abruptly, we hardly had the chance to talk,"_ Lotor said easily.

"I don't make a habit of lingering in the presence of idiots any longer than necessary," Lance said coldly.

Fury flashed through Lotor's golden eyes causing Keithek to grip his mate's wrist without thinking. It was getting incredibly difficult to fight the Alpha instincts scrabbling for control of his consciousness with Lotor taunting him like this. Was that the bastard's intent?

* * *

 _"Are words the only weapons you have with you, Sentinel?"_ Lotor asked, his eyes never leaving Lance's. _"No quintessence bolts to fire at me? Again."_

The prince smirked. "Not at the moment," he replied with an easy shrug. "I think you need to recover from the last one before I do that again. It would hardly be a fair fight, otherwise."

 _"Your Druidic powers are impressive, I'll give you that,"_ the Galran prince admitted. _"But they're nothing compared to the Druids under the emperor's command. I'm sure they would appreciate the honor of taking you on as a student if you turn yourself in."_

"Not particularly interested," Lance replied, gripping the empty pilot seat and bracing himself when Shiro rolled the pod to avoid a bolt of red plasma that came too close for comfort. "Besides, I doubt I would be allowed to study under them. Captives aren't usually granted freedom."

 _"Not usually, no,"_ Lotor agreed. _"But exceptions can be made."_ His golden eyes narrowed astutely. _"You seem tense, Sentinel. Something wrong?"_

Lance glared. "No," he said.

The Galran prince studied the Sentinel closely before chuckling. _"No, I don't suppose so,"_ he purred. _"While I detest the idea of someone else laying their hands on you. I don't like to share my things."_

"He's _not_ yours," Keith roared, surging towards the view screen. Only his mate's firm grip on his arm stopped him from swiping his claws at Lotor's image.

Lotor laughed at the display. _"You should put a leash on your pet, Sentinel,"_ he said in amusement. _"Unruly pets are an eyesore."_

"Funny," Lance said over Keith's snarl. _"My mate_ seems to be behaving perfectly fine to me. That aside," he continued, glaring at the prince, "I don't remember belonging to anyone. Last I checked, I escaped you. Very easily, I might add. You have no claim to me."

 _"For now, maybe,"_ Lotor said. _"But you won't be free for long. I think you'll find freedom doesn't agree with you."_

"How so?" Lance said.

Lotor merely smiled and unclasped his hands, spreading his fingers in a motion resembling a shrug. _"You're smart, Sentinel,"_ he said simply, clasping his hands together once more. _"I think you'll figure it out. I'm sure your,"_ he paused, glancing at the other three people in the pod with a mocking smirk, _"friends will certainly appreciate it_. _"_

For a tick, Lance felt fear zing through him. Allura was standing right next to him in full view of the Galran prince's visual feed. Then he remembered her skin was still pink and he swallowed over a suddenly dry throat.

"What do you mean?" Lance said lowly, trying desperately to read the Galran prince's face for any clue, and hint and finding nothing.

Lotor's smile sharpened as he lifted one finger and an alarm blared in the pod's cockpit. Immediately, Lance's attention dropped to the dashboard and visuals flashing across Shiro's half of the view screen. A bold, red box was flashing around something on the approaching Galra battlecruiser's hull. Shiro entered the command to zoom in on the image.

"It's the ion canon," Shiro cried, gripping the controls and diving out of range.

"What?" Allura gasped, pushing Lance aside so she could lean over Shiro's shoulder and see the image for herself.

"A- Katie!" Lance gasped. "What are-"

"Paladins, get out of there!" Allura shouted into the comm unit.

 _"What? Why?"_ Pidge asked. _"Oh shit! Hunk, get down!"_

 _"What about Coran and the Castle?"_ Hunk said, already darting out of the ion canon's aim.

"Coran!" Lance cried.

 _"Too late!"_ Pidge said.

Sure enough, a solid beam of destructive purple energy blazed forth from the battlecruiser's ion canon and exploded in a ball of fire. The explosion blinded the view screens of visuals for a few tense ticks before the Castle of Lions emerged mostly unscathed if a bit worse for wear and surrounded by the Castle's particle barrier. Shiro turned their pod towards the Castleship while the Lions' protected them from further enemy fire. They were going to make it.

Lance only had a second to breathe a heavy sigh of relief before he realized Lotor's communication channel was still open and transmitting. He turned back to the Galra's image, their gaze meeting.

 _"Like I said,"_ the Galran prince purred, his eerie eyes sweeping up and down Lance's form with an emotion Lance wasn't sure he liked, _"I think you'll figure it out."_ Lotor grinned. _"If it gets to be too much, just turn yourself in to me. Do that and I'll leave them alone. You have my word."_

 _"Hey guys!"_ Hunk said. _"The Galra are retreating. Whatever you did, it worked."_

"We didn't do anything, I don't think," Shiro said suspiciously, flying the pod through the Castle's particle barrier followed closely by the Green and Yellow Lions.

Lance's eyes flicked across the readouts on Shiro's half of the view screen and confirmed that the Galra fighters were indeed returning to the battlecruiser. "You sound like you want me more than you want Voltron," Lance said, his voice sounding hoarse and raw to his ears as he returned his attention to Lotor.

 _"As I understand it: if I have you, I have Voltron,"_ Lotor said. _"My father can appreciate that at least. He gets Voltron, I get you."_

Lance furrowed his brows, trying to make sense of what Lotor was implying. "But if you have me," he said hesitantly, "then Zarkon may _have_ Voltron but he won't be able to _control_ Voltron."

"Yes," Lotor said, nodding. "Funny how things work out that way."

"You're planning a coup," Shiro said suddenly, jolting Lance out of his racing mind. The black paladin, looked at Lotor's image closely before flying into the pod hanger. He landed the pod in its designated spot and turned his full attention on the transmission.

Lotor lifted an eyebrow wryly. _"I'm unfamiliar with that word,"_ he said. _"Although I can guess its means."_

Shiro bit his lips and frowned, glancing at Allura first, then Lance when he caught his slip. Thankfully, Lotor didn't outwards show that he thought much of the motion. Shiro shrugged.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," he said.

"Over my dead body," Allura hissed hatefully.

Lance's attention twitched towards his sister, but his eyes remained locked on Lotor's image.

 _"Consider my offer,"_ Lotor said. _"I won't even stop you from leaving. Just remember I'll never stop hunting you whatever you chose. Surrendering yourself to me would just cut down on the inevitable pain and suffering. Either way, I will find you,"_ he smiled, _"and you will submit to me of your own free will."_

Something unfamiliar and disconcerting fluttered low in Lance's gut making his breath catch in the back of his throat. He barely noticed Keith's roar of fury. He could only think of the last words the Galran prince said. He couldn't hear them over Keith's fury, but he could recognize the words formed by Lotor's lips. They were in a language Lotor should not have known which just made the weight of those words settle firmly in his consciousness. He would never escape them.

 _"I like your eyes."_


	105. PART 4 - 105: Emotion

**A/N:** Sorry or the delay. I went flying on Saturday with the aviation club at my university (a few members are legit pilots) and got back evening so exhausted I crashed at 9pm. Then my friend I haven't seen in months came to visit for the Superbowl game on Sunday and we ended up playing Yu-Gi-Oh! for hours. Like we started at 6pm and didn't stop until midnight. So...yeah. Oops.

Side note:

Next chapter, the rating will be upped to Explicit. Just fyi. Not that y'all are upset by that, I'm sure. ^_~ **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Allura isn't happy with family and Keith is resisting because he misread signals.

* * *

 **105: Emotion**

"You _met him?!"_ Allura cried in furious disbelief. "Why the quiznak did you do that? What could possibly possess you to think that was even _remotely_ a good idea?"

"It _was_ a good idea," Lance insisted, slumping further into his pilot seat on the Castle's bridge.

Immediately after Lotor ended his impromptu call to their pod, Allura had raced to the Castle's bridge with Lance, Keith, and Shiro right behind her and opened a wormhole out of there. After waiting for Hunk and Pidge to fly through the wormhole in their Lions, she flew the Castle through as well. True to his word, not one Galra fighter under Lotor's chased after them or fired a single shot at them. But Allura wasn't one to take chances. She closed the wormhole the moment they exited.

Since then, the princess had been venting her pent up frustration and fear on her brother and, by extension, Keith. Fortunately, the red paladin had taken upon himself to defend his exhausted and slightly drugged mate. Unfortunately, Keith would not come within a span of Lance for some reason which made no sense. It also hurt.

"And why, pray tell, could you possibly think that was a good idea, Lance?" Allura demanded angrily, crossing her arms over her chest and allowing her pink skin to fade back to its usual dark brown.

"Lotor's part Altean," Keith said and the blue paladin sighed heavily, sinking further into his seat until he was practically melting out of it.

"What?" Coran breathed.

The silence that followed the advisor's quiet exclamation was thick and Lance wanted nothing to do with it. However, the quickest way to fill the offensive silence was to speak so since he had the chance to finally get a word in-

"He gave me a drink that contained a high concentration of juniberry juice," he said, letting his eyelids droop low over his eyes. He honestly didn't care about much anymore except how very much he wanted to just lay down on his bed and snuggle close to Keith, if his mate would let him.

"And you drank it, why?" Allura asked. "And what does this have to do with Lotor being Altean? Where by the Lions did _that_ come from?"

 _"Part_ Altean," Lance corrected, lifting a finger. "He's definitely part Galra too."

"At least half Galra," Keith agreed. "Everyone in the Empire knows the emperor is Lotor's father. We just never knew who or what his mother was."

Lance tensed, his eyelids lifting as he pushed himself back up to a proper sitting position. "Actually, I think we do know now," he said reluctantly.

"Wait, wat," Shiro said, waving his hand in a gesture that requested silence. "I'm confused. "One question at a time. Lance, Keith," he looked at both paladin specifically as he addressed them, "answer Allura's question. How do you know Lotor's part Altean?"

"Lotor's part _what?"_

The Altean prince groaned and closed his eyes, letting his head fall back to thunk on the seat back. "Welcome back Hunk," he called in a lackluster tone.

"Wow," the green paladin said dryly. "I feel loved."

"Quiznak you Pidge,"Lance said in the same tone he'd used to address Hunk.

"Lance, please," the princess scolded. "Welcome back Pidge, Hunk," she said to the newly arrived paladins in a much gentler tone. Lance could practically hear the relieved smile in her voice. "We're talking about Lotor."

"Lotor?" Hunk gasped. "As in Lotor, son of Emperor Zarkon and Prince of the Galra Empire Lotor? _That_ Lotor?"

"Frell he'd better be the only one," Lance moaned.

He felt ambient heat radiating from nearby accompanied by a soft growl and instinctively reached out towards the heat. It took a couple tries to catch Keith's wrist, brushing his thumb over the red paladin's skin in a comforting manner.

"Yes, that one," Shiro said, answering Hunk's question. "Apparently, Lance think's Prince Lotor's part Altean."

"He is," Lance insisted, opening his eyes and staring at the ceiling. "He gave me the drink with the juniberry juice in it, but I didn't drink it until after he drank from my glass and swallowed. It didn't affect him at all."

Allura took a deep breath and held it, pressing her lips together hard enough to make her lips turn faintly white. Her bright turquoise eyes were wide with horror and dawning understanding when Lance lifted his head to meet her gaze. Her hands clutched the pink fabric covering her arms, causing the fabric to wrinkle. Her whole demeanor was tense and silently pleading with Lance to deny what the conclusion she'd come to. He couldn't do it.

He dropped his gaze to the floor. The uneven gust when the princess released her breath that was more sob than sigh nearly dragged a similar sound from him. If they were right, then this changed a lot of things. It also put an extra twist on Lotor's perverse obsession with the Sentinel that Lance wasn't sure he felt comfortable with. Was Lotor aware of who the Sentinel was? Did he know who _Lance_ was? If so, then if Lotor's mother was who Lance and Allura both thought she was, then this whole situation was a new level of revolting. It was downright ghastly.

"Someone care to fill us in?" the green paladin spoke up, her head bouncing between the princess's and Lance's expression with a frown. "Why does the identity of Lotor's mother matter again?" Her brown eyes locked on Keith and she advanced on the red paladin with stubborn purpose. "Keith," she said, "why are they freaking out over this?"

Keith flinched, his eyes folding back against his head, and he twitched towards the door to the bridge before he caught himself. He cleared his throat and, after a quick glance at Lance still in the blue paladin's pilot seat, cleared his throat. "I don't know," he muttered. "Honestly," he added when Pidge propped her hands on her hips and lifted an eyebrow in disbelief. "I really don't," he insisted.

"Oh yeah?" she said. "Then why are you acting so suspicious?"

Keith flushed and breathed out in a gusty sigh before taking another quick breath. "Look, it's nothing," he said in abrupt, curt tones. "I don't know."

"Lauma," Allura said.

Lance closed his eyes and sighed in defeat while Pidge, Hunk, and Shiro turned to the princess in confusion.

"Lauma?" the green paladin asked. "As in your sister, Lauma?" A moment later, Pidge's eyes grew round. "Holy shit," she murmured. "Your big sister is Prince Lotor's _mom?"_

"We have no solid proof," Lance said, pushing himself up from his seat. "But it's the only reasonable explanation we have."

* * *

The Altean prince sighed and trudged towards his sister, gathering her in a hug that they both clearly needed. From her perspective, Pidge could see the tears beginning to form in Allura's eyes. She saw the moment the princess gave up holding back and wrapped her arms around her brother's body, digging her fingers into Lance's shirt. Not a second later, her shoulders began shaking and Pidge winced. She didn't really want to watch the princess cry; especially not about something like this.

It brought back too many memories. Allura had lost her family except for Lance as well as her entire planet. Finding out her big sister was probably the mother of their current pain-in-the-ass enemy who happened to be the son of the royal bastard emperor of the known universe must be the sucker punch of the century. Literally. Pidge flushed. That meant Lauma had to have known Zarkon Biblically. She promptly paled and wanted badly to vomit. That was not an image she wanted in her head. The thought of absolutely _anyone_ having sex with Emperor Zarkon was…well, to put it mildly, horrifying.

Pidge gulped, fighting back the bile in her throat, and deliberately looked up at Shiro. Obviously, the black paladin was just as stunned by the announcement as Pidge probably was. He just appeared to be handling it better than her; or maybe Shiro was just better at hiding his darker feelings than Pidge. Probably both, honestly.

A hand dropped heavily on her shoulder and she looked over at Hunk. The yellow paladin's eyes were still wide with surprise, but there was a tell-tale hint of tears at the corners. Pidge winced. She hadn't thought about this whole Voltron thing was affecting her friend. When they'd made their quick trip back to Earth, Pidge had gotten to see her mother. But Hunk hadn't gotten to see anyone he knew. The yellow paladin hadn't seen his family since the beginning of fall semester at the Galaxy Garrison. That was easily two and a half Earth months.

Now they weren't sure when or if they would ever be able to go back to Earth. After the disastrous fallout between Lance and Keith, the Red Lion going all momma-Lion on Keith and revealing herself to the general Earth masses, and then the whole fight with Sendak's parasitic mind-controlled memory core King Alfor, everyone had decided to avoid Earth. If something happened and the Galra tracked them down and discovered Earth, then chances were Zarkon would launch a full-scale invasion. Earth was powerful, but nowhere near the level of defending itself from an invasion from a technologically advanced race of space wizards from the far reaches of the universe. No way in hell.

Pidge suddenly felt the empty places in her heart where Matt and her father belonged sting sharply and she leaned into the embrace Hunk offered. She started this adventure to find her missing family and by quiznak she would succeed. But she didn't want to lose anyone else to get her family back. Team Voltron had become her family too.

* * *

"Lance?" Allura asked softly, just loud enough for Keithek to hear.

The red paladin shifted awkwardly, glancing at Shiro who seemed just as lost with this show of emotion. He felt his ears flick up to hear the princess's words better and got ready to make a quick exit if he could. He wasn't prepared for the solid object that was suddenly right behind him. He just barely managed to catch himself before he could make a sound that would have shamed his adulthood.

He spun around to see Coran standing there. Keithek frowned in confusion, but his question was halted by the advisor lifting a finger up to his lips.

"Lance, what's that smell?" Allura asked.

Keithek stiffened, a blush flooding into his cheeks. He knew what smell she was talking about. He knew without even asking. He was _still_ smelling it. It wasn't as bad as it had been in the small, confined pod, but it was still there. It surrounded Lance's body like a cloud that fogged Keithek's mind. It made the alpha instincts he struggled to keep buried deep inside of him come bounding to the forefront of his consciousness.

Lance made a sound like a whine and Keithek had to grit his teeth to control himself. A low grumble echoed in the back of his mind sending a pulse of wild, untamed heat into him. It soothed his tension, taking the edge off as it flowed through his veins. Then the heat flowed southward and Keithek gasped in shock. The Red Lion purred and Keithek got the distinct impression she was laughing at him. He felt so betrayed.

He was so lost in his communication with the Red Lion that he missed whatever Lance said in reply to Allura's question. Instead, he was jerked back to the present by a chilly hand gripping his wrist and yanking him towards the door. When Keithek's vision cleared, he was stunned to see Lance pulling him through the bridge door towards the lift.

No. No, no, no, nononono. Not another small, confined space where he could drown in Lance's overwhelming scent. He wasn't sure he could control himself if that happened. He hissed and planted his feet firmly on the ground, digging his heels into the unforgiving metal floor. Fat lot of good that did.

Lance simply gave a powerful yank with a strength that Keithek often forgot the prince was capable of. Caught off guard, the red paladin stumbled forwards, crashing into his mate's body sending them both thudding against the lift doors. Lance grunted when his body was suddenly sandwiched between the cool metal of the lift doors and Keithek's much warmer body.

The Red Lion purred in Keithek's mind and the red paladin gulped, his mouth suddenly incredibly dry. This was not okay. He could smell Lance, his mate's scent filling his nostrils and doing things to him he wasn't sure Lance would be okay with. The last time Keithek had accidentally let his alpha instincts take over, it had led to a rejection and the biggest fight they had ever had and hopefully would ever have.

Keithek took a deep breath to steady his nerves, and instantly regretted it when he saw the way his mate's eyes locked on his. The pupil of Lance's natural eye was blown wide, his lips were slightly parted, and his scent thickened. The Red Lion purred, sending fire blazing through Keithek's senses, burning him alive, and driving him to make the first move.

The tiny, breathless whimper Lance let out when Keithek's lips planted firmly onto his was the red paladin's unmaking. One of the prince's hands looped around Keithek's shoulders while the other flailed out, feeling for the lift activation button. Two ticks later, the firm metal doors that had been doing such an efficient job holding the two lovers upright suddenly slid aside.

Lance managed to catch himself and roll around the corner so he and Keithek were now propped up against the lift wall. It was smooth as frak and Keithek expressed his pleasure in yet another kiss that had his mate's legs suddenly giving. He caught Lance's hips with his hands, slipping them around the muscular thighs. Without actually thinking through what he was doing, Keithek lifted Lance up so his mate could wrap his legs around his waist.

The next moment, Lance broke the kiss and turned his head aside, reaching out with one of his arms towards something wholly unimportant. Keithek growled and bit the juncture where his mate's neck met the shoulder. It wasn't the same side as his Mark, but the implication was the same. Judging by the way Lance moaned, the red paladin was ready to bet the prince was well aware of this.

Then the lift dinged and Keithek forgave his mate for looking away. If that's what it took for them to get out of this lift and to Lance's bedroom quicker, he was one hundred percent for it. Lance locked his ankles around Keithek's waist and then wove the fingers of his formerly wayward hand through the red paladin's messy, dark hair. Keithek purred and felt his mate shiver against him.

The scent slammed into his nose and something primal within him made Keithek growl thrust into his mate harder and sooner than he'd intended. Lance grunted in surprise and tightened his grip on his mate but otherwise made no outward sign of discomfort or rejection. In fact, for an instant, Lance's skin suddenly became icy to the touch. If Keithek hadn't known about his mate's connection to the Blue Lion, he would have been shocked. But when the Red Lion sent a raging inferno of heat into him, he didn't even try to fight it.

Keithek barely heard the lift ding but he knew the moment the lift doors slid open letting the air flow through it once more. He growled, upset with the air for taking away his mate's scent.

"Keith," Lance whispered breathlessly. Keithek thrust against him and Lance whined tilting his head back so it thunked against the lift wall. "Keith _please,"_ Lance begged. "Bed. My… Come on. _Please."_

Keithek dug his claws into his mate's thighs drawing a stuttered sigh from Lance's lips. Only then did he lean back from his mate's neck, purring appreciatively at the lesser mark he'd left there. He looked forward the biting the actual Mark itself, renewing his claim to his mate in every way he could. He rolled his hips, grinding into his mate and loving the resulting open mouthed moan. He grinned in pleasure and ground again, harder this time.

Then Keithek felt something hard and hot pressing against his penis and hesitated, his hips coming to a shuddering stop that pulling a pathetic whine from his mate. He knew exactly what he was feeling, he just couldn't believe it. He bucked his hips and listened to the startled grunt from Lance, feeling his mate grip his shirt with blunted nails. The realization jolted the red paladin back to the here and now and left his shaking and struggling to control himself.

This wasn't right. Lance wasn't in his right mind. That drink, that…drugged drink that Lotor had given him… Lance had been hard ever since then, hadn't he? Lotor had pointed it out, Keithek had been smelling it, but only now was he actually _feeling_ it and by the Lions he _wanted._ But he couldn't do this; not when Lance wasn't completely in control of himself. The last time Keithek had lost control, it had ended badly. He had no desire to have a repeat of that experience.

Reluctantly, Keithek lowered his mate back to the ground, maintaining his grip when Lance's legs threatened to give way. The prince gasped and lifted his eyes to Keithek, confusion and hurt whirling within their depths. It never ceased to amaze the red paladin how much emotion could be perceived from a cybernetic eye. Lance was a beautiful and expressive person.

"Wh…why did you s-stop?" Lance pleaded, clutching Keithek's upper arms desperately.

Keithek took a deep breath and tugged his mate out of the lift and into the hallway. Lance followed but his wide, adorable eyes stayed locked on the red paladin searching for an answer. Keithek sighed.

"We can't do this," he said, hating himself for this. This was for the best.

The prince's expression crumbled. "You can't do that," he said, his voice shaking. "You can't just _do_ that to me!" he shouted, pushing Keithek away from him and slumping against the hallway wall. He buried his face in his hands and sobbed. "You can't do that to me," he cried. "Why? Why would do that? What did I do?" he demanded, lifting his face so his eyes bored holes into his mate. "What did I do to deserve that? Whatever it was, I'm sorry. I'm _sorry."_

Keithek shook his head violently. "You didn't do anything," he said quickly, holding up his hands to forestall any further arguments from his mate. "But you aren't in your right mind, right now." He swallowed hard. Damn that addicting scent. "I can't do this with you when you're under the influence of whatever Lotor gave you," he said firmly. "I won't, Lance. I won't stoop to that."

Lance stared at Keithek in incomprehension for a moment before the hurt in his eyes cleared and his confusion vanished. "What?" he asked. "You think... You think I'm…drugged?!"

"You said yourself there was a strong concentration of juniberry juice in that drink," Keithek said. "Even though you're immune to the plant's effects _and_ you're both a symbiotic species, that doesn't mean you won't have a reaction from getting a huge dose suddenly after several turns without. That can do things to your head and I won't take advantage of that. No matter how _badly_ I want to," he finished, gripping his mate's arms and fighting with his self-control.

The prince just stared at him wide eyed for a moment before groaning. "You idiot," he said finally. "That drink didn't do anything to my head. It _fixed_ me. Don't you see? I'm _better_ now. I'm _whole._ I'm fully capable of thinking clearly, thank you very much," he snapped, startling Keithek with the sharpness and clarity to his tone. "And if you don't take me into my bedroom and make love to me right now, I think I'll cry."

Stunned, Keithek could only stare at his mate. "Cry?" he squeaked. "Lance?"

Instead of answering immediately, Lance pressed himself against his mate and buried his face in Keithek's neck. The scent rolling off of him was so close to Keithek's sensitive nose… It was absolutely intoxicating.

"Lotor was the first one to touch me after I could finally _feel_ again," Lance said, his voice muffled by Keithek's skin. "You promised you'd overwrite everything Sendak did to me. I'm calling in that promise. Overwrite everything. Wipe both of them off of me."

He tilted is head just the right way so his breath ghosted across the sensitive hairs on Keithek's neck and whispered, "Keithek."

Oh quiznak.


	106. PART 4 - 106: Possess

**A/N:** This is what you've all been waiting for. I hope it lives up to your expectations. Fair warning, it switches between Lance and Keith's perspectives because they're both attention hogs in this. Otherwise, enjoy the gratuitousness. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Lance takes the lead but both Lance and Keith finish. **  
**

* * *

 **106: Possess**

In the end, it took teeth digging into his neck for Keithek to move. It wasn't a nip either; it was a full-on bite. He grunted in surprise and mild pain. He reached up with one hand and gripped the back of his mate's neck firmly, squeezing until Lance whimpered and allowed himself to be tugged away from Keithek's neck.

The prince was flushed and shaking, his eyes closed and his head tilted back, pinning Keithek's fingers in place against his neck. His breath came in deep, fluttering sighs that were clearly an attempt to calm down. Keithek smirked at the utter mess his mate had become. And to think, they hadn't even made it to the bed yet let alone Lance's bedroom. There was so much left to be done.

He pressed a light, teasing kiss to his mate's chin, brushing his lips along the jawline to the dark, pointed ear. His ears twitched at every waver in Lance's breathing and his nostrils flared to take in as much of that intoxicating scent as he could. He nipped the outer shell of Lance's ear, grinning at the startled whimper.

"Again," he whispered directly into Lance's ear. He licked along the delicate folds along the inner side of the shell. "My name," he said. "Say it again."

Lance sighed, his fingers twitching where they still grasped Keithek's back. "M-make me," he replied.

Keithek purred and nuzzled his mate's neck. "Gladly," he said.

The red paladin smiled and pressed another kiss directly beneath Lance's ear. He squeezed his mate's neck just hard enough for his nails to prick but not hard enough to break the skin before deliberately stepping back, breaking all physical contact as he did so. He watched as Lance slumped without Keithek's support, catching himself before he fell to his knees. When a pair of mismatched blue eyes locked on Keithek in hurt shock, the red paladin smiled.

"You have lovely eyes," Keithek said, studying every reaction his mate had in response to that simple phrase. It infuriated him to see Lance's visible flinch. A compliment should never be used as a weapon. "I'll show you just how beautiful you are," he swore. "But first," he lifted a hand and hooked a finger in a 'come hither' motion, "we should take this somewhere more…private."

Lance hesitated a moment, but eventually followed Keithek towards his bedroom. With every step Keithek took backwards, Lance took a step forwards until they reached the doors to his chambers.

"Open the door, Lance," Keithek commanded, watching his mate move hesitantly towards the control panel. When the doors slid open, Keithek leaned close to Lance's hair and whispered, "Good boy."

Instantly, Keithek was aware of an intense flush in his mate's cheeks. He could feel the heat of it without even touching Lance's skin. And that scent… He couldn't help it. He nuzzled his mate's dark hair.

"I could take you gently," he said softly, enjoying the sigh his voice elicited. "Or I could take you so hard you'll forget your own name."

The catch in his mate's breathing was enticing and went right to Keithek's groin. Frell this holding back nonsense. It was doing murder to his patience and self-control. The longer he stayed in such close proximity to his very beautiful, very _aroused_ mate, the harder it was to hold back his Alpha instincts.

"I did promise I would do that to you one day," he murmured, "did I not? Right before I made love to you the first time. Since you're already calling in my other promises," he smiled into the soft, dark hair, "why not call that one in too?"

Lance was shaking now and it was particularly pleasing to know Keithek was the cause. Just because he could, he nuzzled his mate's hair and purred. Lance stiffened and whined.

"Do it," Lance said, his voice strong despite the state he was in. He turned his head so he faced Keithek directly. There was a heat in Lance's ocean blue gaze that belayed his tendency towards cold. "If you think you can," he added with a sly grin.

* * *

Keith obviously hadn't been expecting the challenge. Lance used his mate's momentary lapse to grab him by the lapels of his shirt and pull him into a kiss. He didn't let the kiss last long enough for Keith to recover his control. It was just long enough to tease. Then he planted both hands on Keith's chest and pushed.

The red paladin stumbled backwards, barely catching himself before the backs of his knees hit the bed. Lance grinned and pounced on his mate, laughing at the breathless 'off' Keith let out when Lance landed on top of him. He let Keith wrap strong arms around his body and roll them so the soft mattress pressed against his back.

He sighed as his mate adjusted his body so a leg slipped between Lance's and pressed right…there. He whined and couldn't help but press down against Keith's thigh. It felt so good. How by the Lions had he ever survived this long without feeling this? It made him shudder with need and arch his back up from the mattress, desperately seeking more contact. He rolled his hips and broke the kiss to gasp at the sensation.

He heard Keith laugh softly above him but he didn't care. He just cared about feeling more of that tingling sensation that set his nerves dancing almost to the point of pain. It was all he wanted. He rolled his hips again, increasing the force behind it. Keith's thigh jerked just as Lance pressed the hardest and his gasp became a moan which his mate promptly swallowed in a kiss.

The kiss was deep and open mouthed and anything but chaste. Keith thrust his tongue into Lance's mouth, swiping over the prince's own tongue with a satisfied purr. Lance tried to roll his hips once more, hoping the move would encourage Keith to hurry up and _get on with it._ But the moment he tried to lift his hips, he felt a hand slip between his legs and cup him. He gasped, startled by both the move and the sensation. Then the hand was undoing his pants and dear Lions _yes!_

He reached up with both arms to pull Keith closer but was disappointed when his mate chose to break the kiss and lean back instead. He furrowed his brow and took the chance to catch his breath.

"Keith?" he asked, giving his mate his best pleading stare.

The red paladin merely grinned, flashing his teeth in a satisfied grin. Lance only had a moment to wonder what his mate was so proud of before the hand that had been working his pants off suddenly gripped his swollen cock tightly. Lance gasped as his entire body stiffened. His legs twitched closed and both of his hands flew down to clasp Keith's hand, unsure whether or not they should try removing the hand or leave it there. Lance bit his lip and squeezed his eyes shut, letting his head fall back to the mattress while his entire body began shuddering.

"Does that hurt?" Keith asked, his voice husky with desire but still tinged with concern.

It took much more concentration than Lance though it should to merely shake his head negatively.

"Good," was all Keith said in reply.

The next moment teeth clamped down firmly on his neck right over the Mark and the hand gripping his penis began moving. Oh… Oh Lions. His eyes rolled back in his head and his hips began moving of their own accord, meeting every upstroke of Keith's hand in a messy but satisfying rhythm.

"More," he gasped. "Keith."

His legs stopped trying to clench and instead fell open, baring himself to his mate without Lance actually thinking about it. His hips continued to move with Keith's harsh rhythm. So close. Just a bit…

It stopped.

Lance's eyes flew open in horror when he felt Keith's body heat retreat, latching onto him and clinging to his mate desperately. Keith wouldn't leave him like this. He _couldn't_ leave him like this. He _couldn't!_ Lance wouldn't _let_ him.

* * *

Keithek had only leaned back so he could flip his mate over so he could rip those offending pants off and start preparing Lance for what was to come. Apparently Lance wasn't happy with that because the next thing Keithek knew, he was lying on his back with Lance straddling him. However, while the sudden change of position had caught him off guard, Keithek was not displeased by it. Who could possibly be upset with someone as beautiful and alluring as Lance straddling his waist and rolling his buttocks teasingly against Keithek's cock?

Keithek was somewhat upset when Lance stopped moving his hips but when the prince began removing his clothes, Keithek felt his dismay vanish. In its place was a renewed desire that grew with every hint of dark skin that was revealed. Taking the hint, the red paladin began removing his clothes too.

Obligingly, Lance sat up on his knees so Keithek could sit up and kick off his pants. Thank ever star in the sky Keithek preferred simple clothes. They were quick and easy to get on and off. By the time Keithek was full naked, Lance had managed remove his pants and undo the dark blue wrap he'd had pinned around his shoulders but he was still struggling with the buttons of his shirt. Keithek joined the struggle, undoing the buttons from the bottom and working his way up until Lance's shirt was entirely open and baring his chest.

Before Lance could shrug out of the thin, light blue fabric, Keithek yanked him into a deep, distracting kiss. He wrapped one arm around his mate's slender waist, holding him in place while his other hand nudged on sleeve off a dark shoulder. He ran a thumb over Lance's smooth shoulder before slipping his hand up into his mat's hair so his fingers tangled in the short, dark strands.

Lance chuckled, breaking the kiss just so he could say in a teasing tone, "Do you like my shirt on, Keith? I had no idea."

Well, a comment like that deserved a punishment. Keithek fisted his hand in Lance's hair and yanked so Lance's head was forced to tilt back, baring his throat in a forced submission. He liked up Lance's throat, flicking his tongue at his mate's chin.

"You never did say," he purred. "Which did you prefer? Do you want me to make love to you slowly until you're begging me to make you come? Or do you want me to pound you in the mattress until you scream and can think of nothing but me and my cock knotting deep inside you? Which is it?"

He eased his hold just enough for his mate to swallow and give a gasping answer.

"To borrow the Human word," Lance said breathlessly, "fuck me. Make me scream." His eyes opened and met Keithek's in a clear challenge. "If you can," Lance added with a sly grin.

The red paladin huffed. "I think I do that," he said. "If you submit to me."

Lance laughed. "You'll have to make me," he said.

Keithek growled and thrust up against his mate's vulnerable groin taking intense pleasure in the way Lance's eyes closed and his mouth dropped open. He was going to thoroughly enjoy this.

"Suck me," he commanded.

He eased his grip on Lance's hair so his mate could move. It took a tick or two for the command to fully sink into the prince's desire-clouded mind; but when it did, the resulting blush was magnificent. Lance gulped and began slowly working himself off of Keithek's lap so he could see the halfbreed penis fully. Keithek placed an encouraging hand on Lance's head and eased him down so the prince's face was pressed flush to Keithek's hot erection.

"Suck," Keithek commanded again.

Lance hesitated just long enough to swallow and lick his lips before he took the tip of the halfbreed's penis into his mouth. Keithek groaned and resisted the urge the pull Lance's face closer and thrust into that hot, wet mouth. There was another hole he wanted to thrust into more and he would be frakked if that didn't happen.

"Prepare yourself," he commanded, scratching his mate's head in a soothing manner.

Lance moaned around his mouthful ripping a growl from Keithek, but obeyed the command. As the red paladin watched, Lance reached back and began working himself open with his fingers. It was growing increasing difficult for Keithek to control himself the longer he watched the prince come undone, especially when Lance's moans grew in frequency and intensity the more worked up he got.

Keithek had to focus on something else, like the cloth-covered arch of Lance's back. Keithek could barely wait until that shirt was soaked with sweat and other liquids. He wondered what Lance would look like spread out across his bed, used and thoroughly exhausted.

The red paladin's hips accidentally bucked into Lance's mouth, startling a choked grunt from the prince. Keithek took that as a hint. He eased Lance off of his cock and helped him climb back into his lap. Lance looped his arms around Keithek's neck and leaned in for a kiss which the red paladin met willingly.

Keithek wasn't sure how long the kiss lasted, but he enjoyed every tick of it. He only ended it because he wanted to be inside his mate _now!_

* * *

Lance shifted, sitting up on his knees so his entrance lined up with his mate's penis. Then, with a little guidance, he sat directly on the penis with a heavy sigh. He could feel his mate move both inside him and out and instinctively squeezed his walls as tightly as he could to prevent Keith from trying anything. They would get to the love-making, as soon as Lance was good and ready.

Keith seemed to think Lance would be the only one submitting tonight. Lance had other plans that involved proving that both could submit if the given the right…persuasion. Speaking of, when Lance felt ready, he lifted his hips up slow, his breath stuttering when his erect penis brushed against Keith's firm belly. Then he dropped back to his mate's lap at the same time he pushed Keith down onto his back.

He planted his hands on his mate's chest, spreading his fingers out over the mauve skin he had come to adore and even crave. He met Keith's stunned eyes and deliberately lifted his hips, dropping them quickly. Keith winced and gripped Lance's hips firmly with both of his hands. However, instead of attempting to stop the prince's movement, Keith's hold actually helped steady Lance as he moved and slowly but surely found a rhythm that satisfied them both.

Every time Lance felt his mate's penis hit him deep inside, he let out a small sound and adjusted his position slightly. He remembered where was a spot deep inside him that, when hit just right, made him cry out in pleasure. He wanted to know what it would feel like now that he could actually _feel_ the arousal that no doubt came with that feeling.

Sure enough, the moment he found it, Lance tensed, clenching his muscles with a startled cry. He began moving faster, rolling his hips so he hit that spot just…so… One of the hands clenching his hips began sliding up his thigh, then up his belly, then his chest… It… He was so… So close…

* * *

It wouldn't be long now. Keithek could see it in the way Lance shuddered and his muscles tensed. There was no way Keithek was going to let his mate control everything. He wanted so badly to just let loose. So he eased himself up into a sitting position, curling his fingers around the back of Lance's neck and squeezing. Instantly, his mate's whined and his eyes fluttered open, lifting to meet Keithek's.

"Let me fuck you," he begged.

Lance's gaze was hazy and muddled from pleasure and he blinked up at his mate, trying to fully understand what Keithek meant. The halfbreed growled and thrust up hard into Lance, enjoying the cry and euphoric expression that took over his mate's face.

"I'm an Alpha, Lance," Keithek said urgently. "I want to fuck like you're my Omega. Let me do that, please."

That seemed to have gotten through. Lance's eyes grew wide in disbelief, but he nodded nonetheless.

"Please," Lance breathed. "Make me submit."

Keithek growled hungrily and lifted Lance off of his penis, much to the prince's vocal displeasure. Fortunately, the separation didn't last long. Keithek flipped Lance onto the bed so his mate lay on his stomach, then he lifted Lance's hips just enough and thrust back into the moist heat he was unequivocally addicted to. He was sure he groaned, but it was nowhere near as wanton as the long, drawn out moan Lance made.

Keithek took a deep breath and stopped fighting himself, letting the Alpha instincts he'd been holding at bay surge to the forefront.

* * *

The moment Keith began thrusting again, Lance knew something had changed. The thrusts were fast and hard enough to knock him off balance. Keith was pulling almost completely out before thrusting back in hard enough for his balls to slap Lance's behind with a wet, satisfying slap. The force of was enough to knock Lance from his hands to his forearms.

Then he was pushed flat onto the mattress by a hand planted firmly between his shoulders as the grueling pace continued without pause. The new angle was magnificent and wrested a sharp cry with every deep-seated thrust.

This wasn't love-making; this was mating. This was just as much a mark of possession as the Mark itself and strangely Lance found he enjoyed it immensely. Keith had made love to him before. But this was knew and exhilarating and _everything_ Lance needed right now. He turned his head to the side letting his cheek pressed against the mattress so he could look back and watch Keith move.

His penis pulsed and Lance's mouth grew dry at the sight. Keith's eyes were wild and untamed, but not in a terrifying way. Quite the opposite, actually. They were filled with desire, lust, and a primal hunger Lance had only ever seen in wild animals. Seeing it now in his mate's eyes was incredibly arousing. Keith was claiming Lance in the most basic, instinctual way he knew how. Lance was owned by Keith just as much as Keith was owned by Lance.

He couldn't think much the next tick because, Keith shifted so he lay directly on top of Lance's body. His hips paused briefly so he could adjust his angle. The new position prevented Keith from pulling out all the way, but his penis could still bury as deep as it would go. He rolled his hips slowly once before returning to the brutal pace from earlier.

This was probably Lance's favorite position. Like this, he was practically powerless and wholly beholden to Keith. The red paladin could do just about anything to Lance like this and the prince would barely be able to resist him. That is, if he wanted to resist. He had no desire to resist. He wanted more.

"Keith," he gasped.

The force of each thrust caused Lance's as yet unattended erection to bounce between the mattress and his stomach in a teasing mockery of what he craved. Then Keith grabbed one of Lance's arms and twisted it so it was clamped between his cloth-covered back and Keith's muscular stomach. To make sure Lance couldn't slip from the hold, not that he would try, Keith reached around the prince's waist and pressed a hand to Lance's chest, brushing his fingers over the pert nipples.

Lance shuddered and groaned. It felt amazing but it wasn't…

"Keith," he pleaded breathlessly. "I need... My… It hurts. Ugh! Touch me. Keithek, touch me, _please!"_

A deep-throated growl rumbled right by Lance's ear and then a hand gripped right where Lance wanted and began moving.

"Yes," Lance cried. "Yes. _Yes!_ Harder! Keithek, _harder!"_

Keith pumped the prince's erection at the same rough pace as his thrusts until Lance screamed his name.

* * *

Keithek was drowning in Lance. He was above Lance. He was below Lance. He was _in_ Lance. Everything was Lance. The Alpha within him was loving this, had been _craving_ this for ever. Finally getting to rut his mate like an Alpha would an Omega was better than any wet dream Keith could possibly think up. He didn't bother trying to consciously guide his movements. His body knew what to do, so he let it do everything.

Best of all, Lance was loving it too. His mate was meeting him thrust for thrust as best he could, crying for more, and, when Keith finally began working Lance's neglected erection, screaming his name like a prayer.

So when Lance came with a hoarse cry, Keithek increased his pace, grunting when the walls around his own penis suddenly clamped down hard. He could feel his own climax. Just a few more thrusts. He needed both hands for this. He used his hands to push Lance's hips up just as he thrust down into his mate as hard and as deep as he could. Lance let out a choke cry of pained pleasure and Keithek was done for.

He bit down on Lance's Mark and held on while his came, spilling a stream of semen into his mate's body. His knot grew causing Lance to whimper and squirm uncomfortably. Keithek bit harder and rolled his hips, hoping to distract his mate from the discomfort. When Lance kept whimpering softly, Keithek began to worry that this had been too much. Had he made a mistake letting his instincts take over? Was his knot to big for Lance to take? Did he-

"Keithek."

His thoughts screeched to a halt and his ears flicked forward in full alert when he heard Lance moan his name.

"Again?" Lance asked breathlessly.

What?

"Do me again?"

Keithek purred and rubbed soothing circles against Lance's belly with his thumbs but refused to relinquish his bite. Of course he would fuck his mate again. He'd do it again and again until Lance either called it quits or fainted from sheer exhaustion. This was the best night of his life.


	107. PART 4 - 107: Confess

**A/N:** This was supposed to be up on Saturday night but I went to Grandmother's and left my computer with he half written chapter at home. Tears happened as a result. But I got my computer back today and finished writing this chapter.

Fair warning, this is...a lot funnier than I originally meant it to be. But eh, I regret nothing. All I an say is, Poor Space Dad. **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Pidge is sneaky, remembers _Bambi_ , Shiro is contagious, Allura is thrilled, and karma is a bitch. **  
**

* * *

 **107: Confess**

"Well," Hunk said into the very loud, very awkward silence. "That wasn't something I didn't want to see, like, ever."

Pidge shrugged next to him with a casual air, although the blush on her cheek belayed her discomfiture. "I mean, it could've been worse," she said. "They could have-"

"Pidge," Hunk said, holding up a hand. "Please, don't. Just, for the sake of my sanity and my poor, bleeding eyes, just don't."

The green paladin shot her friend an odd look. "What do your eyes have to do with what I'm saying?" she asked.

"My eyes are already bleeding," Hunk said heavily, his shoulders slumped in defeat. "The last thing I need is for my ears to join them. I might bleed to death and I don't want to die."

Pidge snickered. "Yeah, I can see it now." She puffed out her chest and held up her hands dramatically as if to pantomime a sign and said, "Here lies Hunk, Yellow Paladin of Voltron and best friend. Strong and study as a boulder." She smirked. "But with a tendency to melt in the presence of extreme heat," she added, bouncing her eyebrows up and down proudly.

Hunk gave the shortest paladin a flat, unimpressed stare which Pidge met with unrepentant satisfaction. Unexpectedly, it was Shiro who snorted. Surprised, both Pidge and Hunk blinked and turned to the black paladin with twin expressions of shock. Then Pidge burst into a wide smile just as Hunk slumped in defeat.

"Really?" Hunk moaned, giving the black paladin his best kicked puppy face. "Really, Shiro? Way to kick a friend when he's down."

Shiro smiled shyly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, buddy," he said. "But that was such a great pun, I couldn't help it. You could almost say it was," he paused to wink at Pidge before adding with an unrepentant smile, "punishing."

"Oh my god," Hunk groaned, slapping a hand over his face. "You're killing me, Shiro. Really. You're killing me. We _literally_ just discussed how that is _not_ a good idea, Shiro. We _literally_ just talked about this."

"Well," Pidge said, letting the word hang in the air, "we talked about your tombstone writing stuff-"

"Epitaph," Shiro offered.

"Yeah, that," the green paladin said, pointing to Shiro lazily. "But we didn't actually talk about your death."

Hunk pouted, shooting both Pidge and Shiro a look of disappointment. "You're both horrible," he said with a heavy sigh.

"You love us," Pidge chirped confidently.

"Yeah. Yeah, I do," the yellow paladin said, crossing his arms. "But you're both still horrible."

Shiro chuckled.

"What are you three talking about?"

Blinking, the three paladins turned to the princess and advisor who still stood in the room staring at the Humans like they'd all grown a second head or something. Though, honestly, considering the things they'd seen and done, growing a third head wouldn't necessarily be that strange. Not anymore, at least.

"Oh, hello," Pidge said with a bright smile. "Forgot you guys were there, sorry."

Allura frowned in confusion. "You forgot…" She stopped and shook her head, obviously deciding it was too much effort to try to figure out what went on in her paladins' minds. "We'll discuss this later," she said instead, drawing herself up so she resembled her usual powerful figure. "In the meantime, Coran." She knelt and picked up a small metal box with sides made of translucent particle barriers and turned to her advisor, handing him the box. "Could you and take this to the observatory, please?" she asked.

Coran took the offered box in confusion. "Of course," he said slowly. "Um, what is it?" he asked, lifting his eyes to his princess suspiciously. "Should I be afraid?"

"What?" Allura gasped. "No! You should be _happy!_ It's a juniberry flower, Coran." She grasped the Altean advisor's wrists in her hands and her entire demeanor brightened with joy. "A real, _living_ juniberry flower."

"Really?" Hunk gasped, coming over to join the two Alteans. "Can I see?"

"Oh! Oh! Me too! Can I see too?" the green paladin said excitedly, hopping next to her friend.

"Of course," the princess said happily.

She tapped a button on the box's metal base and the metal arms at every corner of the device folded up, disengaging the particle barrier sides as they did so. The plant inside was pretty, but it wasn't something that would have stood out if it had been tucked into a bouquet of lilies and roses. The fuchsia petal and bold yellow stamen were certainly eye-catching, though. The stem and leaves looked normal except for a few curly-q vines reaching out from the flower's stems, probably looking for something to latch onto as the plant grew.

"It's kind of pretty," Pidge said.

Hunk leaned close and took a deep breath of the flower's scent and sighed. "It smells good," he said, smiling. "Can I touch it?" he asked curiously, already holding out a finger just in case the answer was yes.

Luckily, the princess nodded. "Gently, though," she warned. "I don't want anything to happen to it."

Hunk looked back at the plant and pressed his finger against the stem. It was smooth and the leaves were slightly glossy in appearance. He tapped one of the curly-q vines and huffed a laugh when it bounced like a spring.

"Want to see something interesting?" Coran said.

"Sure," Hunk said.

The yellow paladin leaned back a bit so the Altean could lean close to the flower's blossom and watched. Coran took a deep breath and let it all out in a slow, steady breeze that ruffled the petals and leaves. For a moment, Hunk was confused. He was about to ask what Coran was doing when suddenly the plant _moved._

"Wha-?" Pidge shrieked, reeling back.

"Holy crow," Hunk gasped.

"Wow," Shiro breathed, watching the way the juniberry's delicate vines slowly stretched out to a finger Coran held out and began looping around it. "That's amazing."

"The freaking thing's _alive?!"_ the green paladin demanded in shock.

The princess scoffed. "Well, of course it's alive," she said, lifting an eyebrow in a perfect arch that practically screamed sarcasm. "All plants tend to be alive, on a fairly reliable basis. Unless they're dead," she added. "Then they aren't alive."

She smiled proudly at her paladins until Hunk burst out laughing. A second later, Shiro joined in, laughing harder when Pidge crossed her arms in a sulk.

"She got you there, Pidge," Shiro said giving the green paladin a sympathetic look.

"Heck yeah, she did," Hunk said, smacking his friend's back in a jovial manner. "That was a good one, Allura."

"You think so?" the Altean princess asked, letting Coran take the juniberry from her hands so she could clasp them over her chest in a hopeful gesture. "I admit, your humor is a bit odd sometimes," she said bashfully. "I'm trying to understand it, but I'm never sure if I'm getting it right or making a fool out of myself."

"You aren't making a fool of yourself, princess," Shiro said with a reassuring smile. "You're doing fine. We're all on a learning curve here, don't worry."

Hunk and Pidge both looked at the black paladin significantly, but it was Hunk who actually said something.

"Um, you know, it really works best if you actually say what you _mean_ , Shiro," the yellow paladin said.

"Yeah," Pidge said, crossing her arms. "Using words. That's always a good place to start."

"I-I'm sorry. What are you two talking about?" Allura asked, glancing between the green and yellow paladins in confusion. When neither paladin acknowledged her, she frowned and turned her gaze to Shiro. She opened her mouth to demand an explanation when she noticed the very prominent blush in the black paladin's cheeks. "Shiro?" she said in concern. "What is it? Are you okay?"

"He's fine," Hunk said, flashing the princess a reassuring smile.

"Yeah," Pidge agreed, never moving her eyes from Shiro's nervous form. "He's just got a bad case of twitterpation."

"Twit-what?" Allura said, stumbling over the unfamiliar word. "Hunk?" she gasped when the yellow paladin snorted, his cheeks bloating as if he was about to throw up. She instinctively stepped back, thanking the Lions Hunk was fast enough to slap a hand over his mouth. While she was worried about Shiro's condition and Hunk's reaction, she had no desire to have half-digested food splattered all over her.

"Goodness, what is that?" Coran asked, his eyes wide with genuine worry. "Is that an illness on your planet?" He gasped and clutched the precious juniberry plant close to his chest as if to protect it from whatever imagined disease Shiro had. "Is it contagious?"

"Oh very," Pidge said seriously, adjusting her glasses so they sat higher on her nose. "Although, it always helps if the other person is receptive."

Hunk snorted, clapping his other hand over his mouth. His dark cheeks began to burn as he deprived himself of air as he struggled to hold back…whatever was in his mouth. Both Allura and Coran took another hesitant step back.

"Oh," Allura said, holding up hands in a peaceful gesture. She smiled hesitantly and a shaky smile worked its way onto her face. "I-I see. Well, I guess I'll go set up a healing pod then."

"Oh no. It's not something like that can cure," Pidge continued, holding up a finger and wagging it in a mock scolding manner. "It can _literally_ only be cured by the other person being receptive to it. Isn't that right, Shiro?" she said, glancing at the black paladin from the corner of her eye with a sly smirk on her face.

The smirk was what caught the princess's attention. Immediately, her fear vanished, replaced by suspicion. She crossed her arms and leveled a stern glare at the green paladin. Pidge noticed the looked and promptly grinned, all teeth and no regret. Mildly annoyed her glare didn't affect Pidge like she'd intended it to, she turned the force of it onto Hunk. The yellow paladin blinked. Then he glanced at Shiro and suddenly burst out laughing.

Thoroughly confused, Allura followed Hunk's eyes to Shiro and her eyes widened. The black paladin, the eldest of the paladins, the most experiences on the battlefield, the decisive head of Voltron, was blushing like a lovesick child. In fact, if Allura didn't know better, she would have thought Shiro was trying to melt through the floor of the bridge and hide in some dark corner of the Castle.

"Alright, paladins," she said in her best 'princess' voice. "What is going on here? Shiro, explain," she commanded, fully expecting her black paladin to answer.

Shiro stiffened and turned wide, terrified on her. He looked very much like he wanted to just run but wasn't able to get his legs moving. Nevertheless, Allura did not let up her stare. She wanted answers. If she wasn't going to get them from Pidge or Hunk, then she would get them from Shiro. She shifted so her weight settled on one hip and waited patiently for a response.

Shiro gulped and the blush in his cheeks became so intense, Allura began to wonder if he would make the Red Lion jealous. Then he spoke and the princess focused on the words.

"I…um…" Shiro shifted awkwardly, before taking a deep, steadying breath, squaring his shoulders, and facing her. "I… I like you," he said.

Allura furrowed her brow in mild confusion. "I like you too, Shiro," she said. "Why was that so hard to… Oh. Oh!" She pressed her lips together to keep anything else embarrassing from tumbling out. She could feel a blush of her own flooding her cheeks.

"Not in the friend way, I mean," Shiro said, rubbing the back of his neck shyly. "Well, that too," he said quickly. "But I _like_ -like you. If you know what I mean. I guess what I'm trying to say is," another confidence building sigh, "I would like to- _permission,_ I would like _permission_ to, ah, court you. If that's okay."

Oh. Oh dear. That was… This was… This whole thing was, well, to put it plainly, awkward. But, not in a bad way.

Allura swallowed. What was she? A Galra? She was an Altean, for the Lions' sake. Confessions like this shouldn't unnerve her so badly. She'd had several such requests before, but they had never affected her as badly as this one did.

Lance was right. Maybe she should give this a try. She glanced surreptitiously at the juniberry flower sitting innocently in her advisor's hands and felt a welcome warmth swell in her chest. She could be whole. She could be a mother now if she wanted. Not only that, but Shiro was not only open to courting, he had requested it first. That was perhaps the most astonishing part of this whole thing. Since when did Shiro know the intricacies of courtship? Coran shifted next to her and suddenly Allura knew her advisor was the one responsible.

Lance would never let her live this down.

"I-um," she began hesitantly. "Yes. I see. Uh, yes. I… I like you too," she said. "And I accept your offer of courtship."

She smiled demurely, warmth still blossoming in her cheeks. But it was nothing like the deep red in Shiro's cheeks. When he smiled, his entire demeanor brightened and, for a moment, Allura was stunned. She'd often caught glimpses of this Shiro under the armor he wore on a daily basis. The way he tolerated the other paladins' antics, the gentle encouragement he always offered to anyone who needed it, or the proud smile he gave anyone who succeeded in reaching their goals. Shiro had become the big brother the Voltron paladins needed, even if they teasingly called him their 'dad.'

Without Allura realizing it, the black paladin from Earth had wormed his way into her heart in a way she hadn't been prepared for. She couldn't bring herself to regret it, though. Seeing the untainted joy in Shiro's face right now was enough to send starbugs fluttering in her stomach. Was this what Keith felt when he looked at Lance? She knew without thinking about it that this was indeed the same feeling. She could remember feeling this when their minds had been forcibly melded under the influence of those headsets.

This was amazing. She couldn't even begin to find the words to describe what she feeling. She felt so-

"You two are pathetic."

The abrupt return to reality slammed into the princess like a sucker punch to the gut. She blinked and looked at the green paladin in dazed surprise. Pidge had her hands planted firmly on her hips and was in the middle of rolling her eyes pathetically.

"First of all," Pidge said, looking at Shiro significantly, "you really need to work on your eloquence because, dude, you suck. As for you, princess," Pidge added, glancing at Allura, "what the heck kind of answer is 'I like you too'? I mean, really?" She groaned. "You both are so freaking hopeless."

Hunk snickered. "They kind of are," he said. "But it's so cute and adorable. I feel like I'm watching a sappy romance."

Pidge flushed and looked away. "I…wouldn't know what you mean," she said, perhaps a bit too quickly if the Hunk suddenly looked at her in shock was anything to go by.

"Pidge," the yellow paladin began, his words slow and full of awe, "do you like romances?"

"That's not important right now," Pidge said loudly.

Unfortunately, she wasn't loud enough to override Shiro's firm, "Yes."

Horrified, the green paladin stared at Shiro in betrayal. Shiro met her stare in righteous triumph. He grinned and said, "Her favorite's _She's The Man_."

"Oh," Hunk said. "That's not too bad, actually. I kind of like that one too. Don't love it 'cause it's not really my thing, but it's not bad. I'd rather watch that than something like _The Notebook."_

The black paladin nodded sagely. "Totally agree," he said. "Anything but that movie."

"I made Pidge watch that with me once," Hunk said.

"No way," Shiro said, a sparkle of interest in his eyes.

The yellow paladin nodded, completely unaware of, or immune to, Pidge's glare. "Oh yeah," he said. "Someone at the Garrison snuck it into the barracks on their computer and hosted a movie night. I went for the food but the movie was okay. Didn't like the ending though. Pidge cried," he said matter-of-factly.

Pidge's eyes bugged and she reeled back in betrayal. "You _promised_ you'd never tell anyone that!" she cried. She curled his hands into fists and shook like a lit firework fuse. "Shiro secretly loves watching _Titanic_ and cries like a baby when Jack dies every time he watches it."

Shiro paled and Pidge snickered. "Karma's a bitch," she said, winking at the oldest paladin without any sign of remorse.

Shiro's mouth dropped open. "You- You can't just-"

"As for the whole twitterpation thing," Pidge continued, steamrolling right over the black paladin's broken attempts to form whole sentences, "I'll have you know, I did that for the greater good," she said, crossing her arms in a huff. "Besides, twitterpated is a great word. It's right up there with Babushka and jelly bean-"

"Oh! And shish kabob," Hunk added excitedly.

Pidge pointed to her friend and nodded enthusiastically. "That's a good one," she said. "I gotta add that to my list of fun words."

"What are-?! Why did you say I had twitterpated-whatever?" Shiro said incredulously. "How in the world do you even _remember_ that movie? You haven't seen it in years."

"I was right though, wasn't I," Pidge said, her tone making it clear she wasn't asking a question.

Shiro's eyebrow twitched. "You made it sound like I was sick," he said. _"And_ you made it sound like it was contagious disease like the flu or something."

"But it got you to confess, right?" Pidge argued. "And Allura said 'yes,' so we're all fine and dandy. No more pining or ridiculously gooshy subtext. Do you have any idea how difficult it's been living with you two?" she said, pointing to both Shiro and Allura. "At least Lance and Keith could fuck and knock down the sexual tension between them. But you two just would not do _anything!_ It was driving me nuts!"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Shiro said, shaking his head in denial but the tell-tale blush on his cheeked countered his words. "Besides, it doesn't matter. You don't force someone to confess like that."

"Do you regret it?" Pidge said.

Shiro shook his head. "No," he said with a shy glance at Allura. "But you didn't have to-"

"Were you ever going to confess on your own?" Pidge pressed.

"Yes," Shiro said confidently. "I was just-"

"Too slow, yeah. I know," Pidge said, earning herself an annoyed look. "Well, look on the bright side. It's all out in the open now so you two can start dating and yeah. Have fun with that. Hunk, let's go. We should give these two lovebirds some privacy." She winked.

"Oh Pele, what have I helped you do?" Hunk groaned.

"Hey Coran," Pidge said, grabbing the thoroughly confused advisor's wrist and dragging him out of the bridge with her and Hunk. "Let's go plant that flower thing."

The moment they stepped into the lift, though, Pidge said, "Five says Allura tops."

Hunk snorted. "Whatever," he said. "I'm not getting involved. Especially not when I know I'll lose that bet."

This was certainly turning out to be a great night.


	108. PART 4 - 108: Caught

**A/N:** So it begins~

 **Chapter summary:** In which Merla bathes, Nyma accidentally spies and is spied, and Rolo is forced to make a difficult decision. **  
**

* * *

 **108: Caught**

Nyma laid on the soft bed, the silken sheets wrapped around her body to keep out the cool air of the room. She propped herself up on her forearms and yawned widely, rolling her shoulders and humming when they popped pleasantly. Soft, breathy laughter sounded from beside her.

"Comfortable?" Merla asked, reaching up to stretch luxuriously.

Nyma smiled and glanced at her bedmate. "Hmm. For now," she said, resting her chin on her palms. "Who knew you had that in you?"

Merla shrugged but otherwise didn't move. "You're good," she purred. "If you're ever interested in doing that again, I would be flattered."

"Are you offering to make this a regular thing?" Nyma asked, lifting an eyebrow in surprise.

"Don't worry, my little lady," Merla said, opening her golden feline eyes and unerringly capturing the Teiidae's gaze. She lifted a light purple-gray finger and trailed a perfectly manicured, red painted nail down Nyma's cheek and along her jaw to the younger trader's lips. "No strings attached," she said in a reassuring voice. "I just know what's good and want more of it. If you're willing to offer it, of course," she added with a sultry wink.

Nyma stuck her tongue out and licked Merla's finger still resting against her lips, nipping it playfully. "Well," she murmured, "if you're offering…" She grinned.

Merla rolled onto her side and sat up so she could place a deep, tongue dancing kiss on Nyma's lips. She slipped her hand up Nyma's cheek and gripped one of her yellow appendages dangling from her head like she had not a few minutes before, and a hour before that, and, well, a good few times before that. For an asexual species, Nyma certainly enjoyed the act, however useless it was in regards to reproduction.

"One day," Merla whispered, breaking the kiss to pet the yellow appendage, "you'll have to tell me what these are for."

Nyma grinned. "Pay me and I just might," she teased.

Merla cackled. "That's my girl," she said proudly. She let out a deep sigh of content, then groaned. "Well, however much I'd love to stay longer -and believe me," she said with a sly grin, "with your skills, I'd enjoy that- I'm afraid I have to leave. I have business elsewhere, other patrons, other clients, other suppliers, you understand."

Merla tapped Nyma's nose playfully and sat up fully. Nyma took the chance to admire the sleek, sweat covered body before the red haired trader slipped out of bed and into the shower.

"Feel free to bathe after me," Merla called without looking back. "I'll be leaving immediately after I dress. I have the room for three more tocks. Then the staff will come in and clean it. If you're in here, I'll deny I know you."

Nyma snorted. "How nice of you," she drawled sarcastically.

"Always," Merla trilled, reaching out to pet her microrapter snoozing comfortably on the back of a large, overstuffed chair. With a single backward wave, Merla stepped into the bathing room and closed the door.

Groaning, Nyma sank down to the ridiculously inviting bed and dearly wished she could just stay here. She did not want to go back to the yurt she and Rolo were renting and finish packing up to leave. She needed to deliver the Kadesh to her client on Pollux, after all.

When she heard the water turned on in the bathing room, Nyma sighed and crawled out of bed. She wasn't exactly in the mood to wait to bathe so she grabbed her clothes and walked straight to the bathing room door. Merla's exotic pet lifted its head to eye her suspicious but made no other move. Nyma had no desire to harm her fellow trader. She just wanted to clean up.

When she tried the door's control pad, she was pleasantly surprised to find it unlocked. She pressed the door open button and strolled in, tossing her clothes on the floor, ignoring Merla's expression of mild surprise.

"As much as I enjoyed our dance in bed," Merla said, "I much prefer to bathe by myself."

Nyma scoffed. "I hardly need much," she said, stepping onto the bathing floor. "Just spray me. That's all I need."

Merla hesitated before shrugged and aiming the hose in her hand directly at Nyma's face, turning the water flow knob to full power. A thin, membrane slid over the Teiidae's eyes, protecting them from the water as she turned her head so the spray hit the tiny scales on her face. Then Merla lowered the hose to spray the rest of Nyma's body. True to the Teiidae's word, the Nyma was fully rinsed in a total of ten ticks. Satisfied, Nyma shook her head and the membranes retreated from her blue, jewel toned eyes.

"I guess I'll see you some time," Nyma said, stepping off the bathing floor and picking up her clothes. "Don't know when," she added, with a cheeky grin. "But I'm sure I'll be seeing you."

She just barely heard the other trader's snort of amusement before she stepped out of the bathing room and let the door close behind her. This time, she heard it lock. Glancing at the microraptor still sitting on the couch back, Nyma sighed and tossed her clothes on the bed keeping her top in her hand. She reached into the hidden pocked between the fabric that was designed to hold her small breasts and pulled out the fluorite shard.

It gleamed in the flickering light shining through the large window from the particle barrier protecting Meserie. She stroked the shard with her thumb for a moment before sighing and reaching for the quintessence inside it. She was beginning to recognize the sensations now, cataloguing them so she could keep track of what she did. The last thing she wanted or needed was to accidentally make a mistake and hurt herself. She doubted she could hurt Lance. Then again, she thought glancing at the shard, you never know.

She could feel a distant pull from the carnelian shard holding a strand of her quintessence. It was still in Lance's possession; but for some reason, Nyma was certain Lance wasn't actually holding the stone right at this moment. That meant she couldn't speak to him directly. Then again, the prince had mentioned something about always being able to connect with him so long as she held the fluorite shard containing his quintessence. She may not be able to communicate with him, but she could see him. Or something like that, anyway.

Her eyebrows lifted and she pursed her lips in mild interest. Might as well, she thought, shrugging her shoulders carelessly. She pulled her top over her head, tugging it so it sat snugly in place, and then pulled on her pants. Once she was fully dress, aside from her shoes, she closed her fingers over the shard so she held it tightly in her fist, focused her eyes on her fist, and concentrated on reaching for the Altean quintessence woven into the fluorite shard's crystalline interior and plucking it like she would a string.

She felt a faint response, but not in the way she had grown to recognize as Lance answering her call. This was less aware and more subconscious instinctual response. When the response was strong enough, she lifted her eyes curiously and gasped. That…was not what she had been expecting. She tilted her head thoughtfully and examined the dim, translucent form of the Sentinel.

Lance was there, all right. The prince was sprawled across what Nyma could only assume was a bed and stark naked. He was clearly deep asleep and showed no signs of waking up. If Nyma was a betting woman, she would have been fully prepared to bet everything she had that the Sentinel had just been thoroughly… What was that new word she'd learned from those strange people with Lance? Oh yes. Fuck. The Sentinel had clearly been thoroughly fucked.

Nyma snorted, then quickly covered her mouth with her hand and hoped the Sentinel hadn't heard her. When Lance didn't move or show any sign of even being aware of her existence, Nyma relaxed. But then a disturbing thought occurred to her. What if Lance really couldn't hear her or see her right now? The Teiidae was beginning to think this whole quintessence thing was a bit more complex than she'd first thought.

She glanced down at her fist and furrowed her brow as her thoughts raced. This was definitely not something Lance would want falling into the hands of the enemy. Her lidless blue eyes lifted to the still sleeping prince once more, frowning when something she couldn't see flicked the short, dark brown hair. Keith. It had to be. Nyma bit her lip and severed the connection. This felt too much like the kind of spying she did not feel comfortable with.

She quickly tucked the shard into the hidden pocket in her top and hurried to her shoes which she'd left by the foot of the bed. Slipping her shoes on, she glanced back over her shoulder to the bathing room where Merla was still washing. The microraptor crooned, abruptly snatching Nyma's attention. Nyma faced the raptor's intelligent gaze evenly, straightened her back, and strode quickly towards the exit.

She wouldn't breath easily until she and Rolo were off of Meserie in their small, 'reclaimed' Galra cargo vessel and shooting through the stars. Manset had given them enough information to think on for a good long while. Hopefully, the Leader wouldn't mind a short delay in receiving the Kadesh. Nyma wasn't exactly sure heading straight for the rebellion's base was a wise thing to do at the moment. If only she could-

 _:Nyma! Answer me, you frell-begotten-:_

"Finish that sentence and I might just punch you for the sake of when I see you, Rolo," Nyma snapped, rubbing her ear where the translator latched on the side of her head. The communicator connected to the translator picked up Nyma words loud and clear because Rolo groaned.

 _:Thank the 'verse,:_ Rolo sighed in obvious relief. _:Where the frell are you? We have to get out of here, now.:_

Nyma picked up her pace, moving away from Merla's door in the semi-private hallway to the lift door, pressing the button to go down. "Why?" she demanded, glancing to either side of her to be sure she was alone. "What's happened?"

 _:The frak- Nyma, where have you been?:_ Rolo demanded in exasperation. _:The Galra are crawling all over the place. They're quite literally everywhere. I'm packing the last of our things into the ship. Get your smeg here right now. We're getting out of here.:_

"On my way," Nyma said in a curt voice. She began tapping her foot impatiently when it felt like the lift was taking its sweet time coming. "I'm waiting for the lift at The Mistro."

 _:The Mistro?:_ Rolo gasped. _:You're not at De- the lounge, are you?:_

Nyma frowned when Rolo stopped himself from saying the full name of Manset's place. There must be someone near him.

"No, I'm not," she said. "I'm on one of the higher floors."

 _:What were you doing on the higher floors?:_ Rolo said. _:Nevermind. Nevermind. That's not important right now. Just get out of there.:_

Nyma blew a heavy sigh of relief when the lift finally arrived at her floor with a satisfying ding. "I'm getting into the lift now," she said, doing just that. "If anyone comes in here with me, I'll have to stop talking though."

 _:Understood,:_ Rolo said. _:I'll have the ship warmed up and ready to leave for when you get here. Just- Hurry.:_

"I'm going as fast as I can," Nyma snapped, the building anxiety forming a heavy weight in her gut and adding an edge to her voice. "Just tell me what's going on. What've you heard?"

 _:It's the Sentinel,:_ Rolo said. Nyma tensed. _:Apparently Lotor found him and is giving chace. He's practically barricaded this place. Word is, the Sentinel is already long gone though.:_

"Then why's Lotor still here?" Nyma asked, crossing her arms over her chest and fighting the urge to pace. The lift was too small for that. Then a ding broke through her thoughts and she groaned. "Look. I can't talk now. I think someone's getting on."

 _:Want me to keep talking?:_

"No," Nyma said curtly. "Got to go."

Rolo didn't reply and Nyma was immensely glad for that because the person who appeared in the lift doorway was not someone she wanted her partner to be anywhere near. The masked Druid made no move to greet Nyma, it merely glided into the lift with an almost unnatural grace. Nyma could feel the air in the lift crackle with a subtle power which she now recognized to be quintessence.

She resisted the urge to press a hand protectively over the fluorite shard still hidden in her top. Nyma wasn't stupid. She a Trader of goods and information. She was fully within her rights to be here on Meserie and here in the lift at The Mistro. _She_ belonged here; the Druid did not.

Nyma deliberately relaxed, allowing her weight to settle comfortably on one hip. This stance was less suited to moving quickly, but it gave off a sense of confidence that she desperately needed to feel right now. The Druid standing next to her in the lift was making the scales on the back of her neck lift in the prehistoric Teiidae instinctual reaction to a perceived threat.

She said nothing. The Druid said nothing. The smooth, bone white mask covering the Druid's face had five slits that glowed an eerie yellow like Galra eyes, but not. There were two horizontal slits on either side of the mask where the Druid's eyes would be while the fifth was smaller and set vertically in the top center of the mask where the creature's forehead should be. It was impossible to tell the Druid's race, gender, or anything useful for identification through the featureless brown robes it wore which draped over its body. The hood was even lifted to hide all features of the Druid's face not hidden by the bone mask. Only the Druid's hands were currently visible.

Nyma counted her breathes, forcing herself to remain calm. The Druid was just hitching a ride down to The Mistro's atrium. That was hardly unusual. Just stay calm. They were both simply riding to their destinations. Nothing more. Don't worry. Whatever you do, do _not_ worry.

 _Finally,_ the lift dinged and the doors slid open. Nyma wanted badly to bolt out of the transport but held herself in check. Running would imply guilt. Instead, she glanced at the Druid and lifted an eyebrow.

The Druid acknowledged her with a minute nod and swept out of the lift without a word or backward glance. Nyma stepped out behind the brown, cloaked being and turned towards the main doors. She took easy, measured steps, taking care to appear calm and confident, at home. _She_ belonged here. The Druid did not.

There certainly were many more Galra here now than there had been. Galra drones dotted the place like silent watchmen. It was disturbing Meserie was carefully neutral. For the Galra to suddenly increase their presence here, no matter the reason, was cause for concern. The people of Meserie would not be pleased with this. It was clearly a violation of the treaty between Meserie and the Galra Empire. Although the Galra Empire was notorious for breaking treaties, they had studiously kept their end of the treaty with Meserie.

This was probably due in large part to the Trade Guide's strong presence here. The Trade Guide were strictly non-political. They comprised of the single, most powerful gathering of individuals from more worlds than the Galra controlled whose sole purpose was to trade and exchange culture, materials, and knowledge. Any and all attempts to undermine their influence was treated as a breach in a trade contract and punished in kind.

No member of the Trade Guide would even acknowledge the offending party. Any trades that had been in progress between a Trade Guide member and someone from the offending party were immediately severed and erased as if they'd never been made. Traders would refuse to deal and the Guide would back them up. Even the Galra Empire, in all its might and power, was hesitant to create an enemy of the Trader's Guide. Or at least they had been. If things had changed, then that was all the more reason for Nyma to get off this trade post planet as fast as she could.

Nyma was almost to The Mistro's main entrance when movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. She surreptitiously glanced in the direction and her hearts began thudding uncomfortably in her chest and abdomen. One of the desk clerks was leaning towards a Galra soldier and saying something urgently and pointing at her.

Frak. She'd been made.

Throwing caution to the wind, Nyma lurched into a full run. She was fast and knew how to dodge successfully through a thick crowd with ease. Even the Druids with their immense powers and teleportation skills would find it hard to attack her in this crowd of people. The risk of teleporting into a space that was already occupied was too real.

A bolt of purple energy zagged its way through the sky, striking the skypath Nyma ran on just a span from her. Nyma's lidless blue eyes widened in horror when she saw the crumbled corpse of the innocent victim of the quintessence bolt. The poor person's only crime was being too close to Nyma.

Terrified, Nyma looked up and was stunned by the sight of two Druids _flying_ through the air above and slightly behind her. Druids could _fly?!_ The frak? Since when was that even a thing?!

Fueled by fear-tinged fury, Nyma turned her eyes back to the skypath in front of her and maintained her speed. She couldn't run much faster or she would run out of energy too soon. Not that it would make much of a difference, she realized. She was too far from the lift that would take her to Rolo and their little vessel home. She wouldn't make it.

Gritting her teeth, she reached up and tapped the communicator on her translator and sent what she sincerely hoped would not be her last message to her best friend. Then she deactivated the communicator with a soft, electrical buzz. The circuitry was ruined now. The Galra wouldn't be able to recover any data from the device.

That just left the incriminating fluorite shard with the Sentinel's quintessence in it. Nyma had no doubt the Druids would find the crystal soon after her capture. If Lance could bind his quintessence to the shard, then Nyma could only imagine what the Druids could do with that little bit of quintessence. How should she get rid of it without letting it fall into unsavory hands? Who should she trust? Who _could_ she trust?

There was one person. She had to hope that-

She screamed.

* * *

 _:I won't make it. Take off without me.:_

Rolo's legs were weak and shaky. He'd had to lean back against the ship's metal side to keep himself upright. His best friend's words still ringing in his ears. He'd tried calling her, but it was no use.

He fought away tears and climbed into the ship and pushed the engine to takeoff mode. He would never forgive himself for this. Nyma knew the risks. They both did. All Rolo could do now was hope and pray the Galra didn't kill Nyma. As long as she was alive, Rolo had something to work for. He would get her back. He'd do it if it killed him in the process.

But not now. Right now, he had to get away or be captured as well. He flew his ship into the group of other ships exiting Meserie through the gate in the particle barrier. Besides, he had to tell the leader Nyma had been compromised. They had to be ready in case the Druids' infamous interrogations managed to get sensitive information from Nyma. Everyone broke eventually, after all. No exceptions.

Even Druids. Rolo gripped the ship's controls and began planning a rescue mission.


	109. PART 4 - 109: Physics

**A/N:** Sorry for the longer than usual delay. Life happened. My church pastor passed away and I had a good cry about it this morning. I also may or may not be coming down with a cold. It's February here and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Lord, save me. If this is our winter, I am absolutely _terrified_ of summer. We have cherry blossoms and a couple magnolias blooming in freaking _winter!_ My allergies are killing me. There's a pretty bad flu going around too. Crossing my fingers that I don't get that.

 **Quick thing:** The blue planet described in this chapter does actually exist. It's name is 'HD 189733b' and it's amazing. Look it up on _SciShow_ or 'space dot com.' **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which Shiro did take physics, thank you very much, and Hunk is so done with space magic. **  
**

* * *

 **109: Physics**

"And you're sure these planets have no forms of life on them?" Allura asked. "Nothing at all?"

Hunk looked back at the display on the view screen depicting the three celestial object at the coordinates he and Pidge had discovered. "As far as we can tell," he said with a shrug. "I mean, we can't exactly tell for sure unless we get closer to do a full scan."

"But that would expose us," the princess muttered, gnawing her lip in worry.

"It would indeed," Coran agreed, the corners of his mouth turned down. "The long range scanners simply aren't powerful enough to detect such minute details." He sighed. "I could perhaps hide the Castle far enough away to avoid being detected. But that's only if we're absolutely certain there isn't any life on those planets. If we hid the Castle on the far side of the blue planet," he said pointing to the planet with the blue, swirling atmosphere, "then we would be hidden from any detection devices on the rocky planet there," he pointed to the other large planet of the trio.

"But that's assuming there isn't any life on the blue planet that we simply can't detect from this far away," Shiro said grimly, crossing his arms in mild frustration. "Although, I doubt there would be."

Pidge frowned and looked up at the black paladin in confusion. "Why do say that?" she asked. "Not that I'm disagreeing, or anything. But, I mean, we literally just said we can't detect something that small from this far away."

Shiro shrugged. "I had the rundown of basic astronomy and physics when I was in college, Pidge," he said, a wry smile tugging at his lips. "I had to have that in order to be even considered as a potential candidate for the Galaxy Garrison's piloting program. For starters," he said, stepping up to the control panel Hunk had been using to control the visualizations on the bridge's main view screen, "that blue planet is out of proportion."

"What?" Pidge asked, frowning.

"What do you mean by that?" Hunk asked, leaning over Shiro's shoulder to study the black paladin's inputs with interest.

"Well, basically," Shiro zoomed into the blue planet in the current image on the view screen, "that planet looks seriously close to the parent star."

"Yeah," Hunk said, nodding and looking back up at the view screen. "We did notice that. It's another reason why Pidge and I doubt there could be any life on those planets. The sheer amount of solar radiation from the star would kill any life form we know of."

The green paladin nodded in agreement. "Yeah," she said. "We ran the estimated parameters through the Castle's database of known races and none of them could stand up to the minimum radiation levels those planets would be subjected to." She held out her hands in a shrug. "That actually why we aren't sure if these coordinates are right or not."

"It certainly is a conundrum," the Altean advisor admitted.

"That is true," Allura said. "But Meserie has a particle barrier strong enough to ward off its parent star's radiation and the planet's own dangerous weather. Would it not be possible to design a particle barrier to withstand these conditions as well?" she asked, turning to Coran.

Coran hummed and piched his mustache in thought. "Theoretically, yes," he said slowly. "But it would have to be incredibly powerful."

"It would also have to withstand the constant bombardment from the particulates in the planet's atmosphere," Shiro said. "That's actually the other reason why I doubt there's life on that planet. See those swirling blue colorations?" he said, following one of the large, swirling blue storms visible in the planet's atmosphere. "I vaguely remember NASA discovering an exoplanet that fit the description of this planet almost to a 'T'."

Pidge's eyebrows lifted and she gave Shiro a look of disbelief from the corner of her eye. "Shiro," she said slowly, "you do realize our telescopes and satellites aren't strong enough to detect worlds in this kind of detail from so far away. Even if we could, we'd be seeing them as they were in the past due to the time it took for the light to travel from the planet and its star to Earth. That's a hell of a long time."

The black paladin rolled his eyes and groaned. "I know that, Pidge," he said. "Look, all I'm saying is that this planet," he pointed to the blue planet on the view screen, "is _similar_ to the exoplanet NASA discovered, not the same."

"And why do you think that?" Allura asked, stepping up to Shiro's side and resting an encouraging hand on his metal prosthetic arm.

Shiro sighed. "Because of the readings here," he said, pulling up the coded readouts from the Castle's long distance scanners. "These here," he nodded to a few lines of script, "indicate high clouds with concentrations of silicate materials in them. Put that together with these temperature readings here," he scrolled down to another set of readouts, "and we can safely assume this planet is tidally locked. That would explain the stark temperature differences between the sunward side of the planet and the dark side. Add these readings on top of that," he scrolled further down and highlighted yet another couple lines of script, "and you'll see the ratio of gas to solid is extremely off kilter."

"Off what?" the princess asked, unfamiliar with that word.

"Off balance," Hunk explained, flashing Allura a smile. "Basically, Shiro's saying the planet's a hot Jupiter."

"A what?" both Coran and Allura asked.

"A hot Jupiter," Hunk repeated easily. "It's what we call gas giants that orbit their parent stars extremely close and are typically hot because of that. The closest similar gas giant planet we have in our solar system is Jupiter which also happens to be the largest planet in our solar system too. We Earthlings tend to use things we're familiar with to comparison things we're unfamiliar with. It helps put things that would typically be hard to grasp into a context we can at least somewhat understand."

"That would make sense," Coran said, approaching the control panel. "May I?"

Shiro gestured to the panel and stepped back with a friendly smile, joining Allura who still gazed up at the main view screen curiously. He adjusted his arm so Allura's arm looped through his and her hand rested on his forearm. She smiled up at him and he flushed happily.

Someone cleared their through -Pidge- and Shiro's happy blush suddenly depended from a gentle pink to a dark raspberry. Allura chuckled, unbothered by her paladin's teasing.

"Yes," Coran muttered. "Yes," he said again, louder. "I have to agree with Shiro." He straightened and lifted his gaze to the zoomed in image of the blue planet. "I believe I can say with almost absolute certainty that the chance of finding life on that particular planet are slim to none. I doubt even the particle barrier on Meserie could handle particles of molten glass smashing into it at approximately seven times the speed of sound."

"Woah! What?" Pidge cried, darting over to the pnael, knocking the Altean advisor out of the way as she did so. She stared wide-eyed at the readouts in awe. "That's so freaking cool."

Shiro beamed proudly. "I knew I took physics for a reason," he said.

Hunk's shoulders slumped. "And here I thought I'd found a fellow physics lover," he muttered.

"Sorry, buddy," Shiro said, patting the yellow paladin's back in sympathy. "It was interesting but not really my thing. I preferred something I could actually put to use."

Hunk's eyes blew wide and he turned an offended stare on his friend and leader. "Physics is _everything!"_ he cried. "It's _literally_ everything. How can you _not_ put that to use?"

Shiro winced and held up both hands to stave off the yellow paladin's outburst. "Sorry, it's just not my thing," he said. "I prefer flying and mechanics to physics."

"But they're _related!"_ Hunk cried. "In every single way."

"Then I'm glad I have you on my team to add your expertise on the subject," Shiro said with a smile.

The yellow paladin opened his mouth the say something else. But when Shiro's words sank in fully, he froze, eyes wide and mouth open. "You… My expertise?" he said.

"Well, that," Shiro said. "And your friendship. You're smart Hunk. Look at what you and Pidge figured out," he said, nodding up to the view screen.

Hunk blinked, then burst into a brilliant smile. "You're awesome, Shiro," he said.

"You two are so mushy, it's ridiculous," Pidge grumbled loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Speak for yourself, Pidge," Hunk said.

The green paladin leveled a flat stare at Hunk. "I literally just did," she said.

"Oh, yeah, I guess you did," he said, his smile never fading. Then he paused. "You know," he glanced back at the entrance to the bridge, "we still haven't heard anything from Keith or Lance."

"Oh, they're fine," Pidge said, waving a hand absently without even bothering to look back. "I bet our Prince Charming is too busy getting his brains f-"

"Pidge, I swear to Pele is you even _think_ about going there, I may have to hurt you," Hunk said.

This time Pidge did look over her shoulder. Her brown eyes studying Hunk, calculating his will to carry out his threat. Aw, what the hell.

"Fucked out by Keith," she said, grinning wickedly.

Hunk narrowed his eyes at the shortest paladin. "One day," he said slowly, "I will make you regret making me bleed to death from my ears."

Pidge snickered. "Better your ears than your eyes," she said with a cheeky grin.

"Pidge," Shiro warned.

Hunk, however, raised both of his hands. His face was totally unreadable as he said in a flat voice, "I'm done. I am so done."

"On that note," Shiro said, "we should start putting some thought into how to deal with this situation."

"Shiro's right," Allura said. She lifted her gaze to the view screen. "Our contact on Meserie has agreed to inform the rebellion's leader to set up a meeting between us. When that happens, I'll be prioritizing that mission. However, it would be stupid to just wait for a response when there's a lot that still needs to be done."

"You can say that again," Pidge grumbled, adjusting her glasses so they sat higher on her nose. "We still need to find my family."

"And we will," Shiro said seriously. "I already promised you that. We _will_ get them back."

"But we should also check this place out," Hunk said, nodding to the location on the view screen. "You know, just in case."

"Yes," Allura said, nodding. "That's why, Coran?"

"Yes, princess?" the advisor chirped, straightening from where he was still bent over the control panel.

"Set a course for those coordinates," Allura commanded. "It doesn't look too far. It would be best if we didn't travel by wormhole. That could attract too much attention."

"Good idea," Coran said, inputting the new course into the Castleship's navigational computer. "It should take us a few tocks at slipstream to make it to the vicinity of these coordinates."

"We should come out of the slipstream behind the rocky planet, here," Hunk said, pointing to the location.

"Right," Pidge said, nodding in agreement. "That would be a better idea than using the blue planet for cover. We'd be too close to the star and, I don't about you guys, but I'm not exactly into sun tanning and skin cancer."

"Cancer?" Allura asked. "What is that?"

"It's an Earth illness," Shiro said.

"Yeah," Hunk said. "Long story short, it's basically where our cells begin to grow out of control causing tumors. It's deadly."

"I see," the princess said sadly. "I'm sorry."

"That…"

"Pidge?" Shiro said, turning to the youngest paladin in concern. "Are you okay?"

Pidge's eyes were huge when she lifted her head to look directly at the black paladin. "Dude," she whispered, "why aren't we sick?"

Hunk frowned. "Um, I don't know about you, but I'm kind of glad I'm _not_ sick," he said. "Why would you ask something like that?"

"Because!" Pidge cried, waving her hands out excitedly. "Don't you understand? We should be sick! We should be making _you_ sick," she said, pointing to Allura and Coran. "You should be making _us_ sick. We- Why didn't I realize this earlier?" she muttered, clutching her head.

"Pidge, what are you talking about?" Shiro asked in confusion.

"Look," the green paladin said, "how many times in Earth's history has one group of people made contact with a completely different group of people without any prior interactions and _no one_ got sick? Name one."

"What do you-"

"Oh Pele," Hunk murmured in wonder. "Holy crap, you're right. Why aren't we sick? I don't want to get space flu!"

"Space flu?" Coran said thoughtfully. "I've never heard of that illness. Is it contagious?"

"He's being dramatic," Shiro said. "But he does have a point." He looked over to Allura and asked, "How is it that our immune systems haven't been affected by all this travel?"

"Oh, that's simple," Coran said, startling everyone. "It's a little complicated," he admitted awkwardly, "and I'm no expert, but as I understand it, the Castle monitors the air filtration systems for any foreign and possibly dangerous contagions and filters them out."

"But how could the Castle possibly know the difference between a contagion and just another particle of airborne whatever?" Hunk demanded. "And please," he added, holding up a hand to stop Coran's oncoming speech, "don't say quintessence."

"Oh," the advisor said, wilting slightly. "I guess I shouldn't say then."

Hunk blinked then slumped. "You… This is…" He sighed heavily. "I got nothing."

"Space Magic," Pidge groaned. "The default answer for everything."

"Yep. Definitely done," Hunk said. "So done. Someone take me somewhere where science is still a thing. Please. I'm begging you."

* * *

"Commander Prorok."

Thace didn't lift his gaze from the battlecruiser's controls when he heard the Druid's voice on the bridge. He wasn't the one being spoken to, so he wasn't going to acknowledge the Druid's presence. It wasn't his business.

"What is it?" Commander Prorok said.

Thace did not pause in his movements as he carefully catalogued everything he could from the brief encounter with the Sentinel. He wanted to know why Prince Lotor had willingly let the Sentinel go. Not that he was complaining; far from it. As far as Thace was concerned, the longer the Sentinel remained out of Galra hands, the better in the long run.

"Where in Prince Lotor?" the Druid hissed.

Still, Lotor was the best tracker under Emperor Zarkon's command. The prince was infamous for successfully hunting down and demolishing his prey. Lotor was one of the main reasons why Romelle's rebellion and the Blades of Marmora remained separate. If one fell, there was still a chance the other would succeed. They still communicated, but did their best to keep it to a minimum.

That being said, the Sentinel was currently the most wanted person in known universe and was making no secret of his attempts to contact any rebellion he could find. Why had Lotor let him go? What was Thace missing?

"I would assume he'd be in his chambers," Prorok's voice said, filtering into Thace's thoughts. "Why?"

"It is of no consequence," the Druid said. "We will inform him of our prize in person."

Prize?

Thace bit back his reservations and looked over his shoulder at the scene. Thace may not be the commander of this vessel and its accompanying fleet, but he was still a subcommander with all the trappings that came with it. It wouldn't be unusual if the subcommander showed interest in the goings on between the commander on the bridge and a guest, however unwelcome said guest was.

However, this time, it wasn't the Druid that struck fear in Thace's heart. There were three Druids standing on the bridge, not just the one who'd spoken. Thace's gaze locked on the Druids two standing behind the leader, doing his upmost best to maintain an uninterested expression. The Teiidae shackled between the two Druids was awake but clearly unhappy with the situation. She was docile, for now.

How by the Blade had Nyma been captured? This didn't bode well. Nyma glanced at him, but did not hold his gaze. Instead, she kept her mouth shut and let her eyes roam, taking in the bridge and its layout. Nyma was smart. She wouldn't have just let herself get captured. Something must have happened. Did they know she worked with the rebellion?

Thace's gaze flickered to the masked Druids but was not surprised to find nothing of use. The billowing cloaks and eerie masks hid practically every aspect of the Druids. Thace sometimes wondered if the Druids were even Galra at all. He didn't trust them. He doubted he would trust them even if he had been absolutely loyal to Emperor Zarkon. The Druids answered to Haggar. Zarkon trusted Haggar but Thace did not. If anything, he feared Haggar more than he feared Zarkon. The emperor wielded great power, there was no denying that. But it was Haggar who built the Robeasts, who helped create the emperor's armor, who designed the Galra's weapons, and who acted as both shield and sword to Zarkon.

Thace frowned and turned back to his console with the air of someone who had lost interest in the scene taking place behind him. Even if it had been just a stroke of luck, Nyma was still relatively high in the rebellion's hierarchy. She knew too much to be allowed to live in Lotor's prisons. The Druid's would rip every shred of information they could from her. That left two very disconcerting options: kill her or help her escape.

The first was easiest, but also had its own set of risks and associated unknowns. Helping her escape was more risky but had the best payout. Perhaps he should pay a visit to the prince this evening. Lotor seemed to have taken a liking to Thace. That could be useful, even if the very thought of it made Thace sick to his stomach.

This was, quite simply, not his day. At least he got to see his son. Thace prayed Keithek lived long enough to reap the benefits of a world without Zarkon, however slim that possibility was.


	110. PART 4 - 110: Space Base

**A/N:** Sorry I haven't updated in a couple days. I'm trying to alternate between this fic, _Shadow Relations_ , and my thesis. I'm not giving up, promise. I'm just trying to balance this life and real life. My thesis took priority this week though because next week is Spring Break and I really don't want to work on school stuff over the break. ^^; **  
**

 **Chapter summary:** In which the Castle arrives at the coordinates, the team decide to multi-task, for better or for worse, and Keith talks about his family. Sort of. **  
**

* * *

 **110: Space Base**

Lance leaned against the console in the studying the readouts from the latest scan of the coordinates. He was hyper aware of a particular set of brown eyes watching him with a no doubt smug grin. He shifted, rolling his shoulders to dismiss the feeling of self-consciousness crawling up his spine, only to wince and stagger when his body vehemently resisted the motion. The chuckle that wafted to his ears from behind brought a raging blush to his face.

When Keith begged Lance to let him rut his mate like an Omega, Lance wanted that so bad. He thought he'd known what he was getting into and frell if it didn't feel absolutely, mind-numbingly, amazing. Right now, however, he was feeling the results and it was seriously intense. He didn't regret it; not in the slightest. But he did wish he'd waited until he was sure there were no plans to investigate some confounding coordinates ripped from that bastard Sendak's head.

Speaking of which, while Lance understood his sister's reasoning behind coming here, but did not think it was a good idea. Allura or Lance, or both, were due meet with the head of the rebellion soon. The last thing they needed was to get swept up in a side quest that had the chance of blowing up in their faces. Best case scenario: the coordinates were a flop, there was nothing here, and they could go with no worries. Worst case scenario: there _was_ something here, they ended up fighting, they all died, and Zarkon took possession of Voltron.

Unfortunately for their little team, it was looking more and more like the latter of the two scenarios would play out, preferably not completely. There certainly was something here, but it wasn't anything big. The scans were having trouble getting a full 'view' of whatever it was due to the mesh of cosmic radiation, ultraviolet radiation, and the mess of gravitational forces created by the three celestial bodies here.

Lance had to manually pilot the Castle using the backup controls on the console to adjust the Castleship's position so the thing the Galra wanted so badly to hide was at least somewhat visible on the bridge's large, main view screen. Lifting his gaze to the view screen now, he furrowed his brows in confusion.

"What is that?" he asked.

"It…looks like a base of some sort," Hunk said, his gaze also fixed on the view screen.

"No, it's not," Keith said suddenly, striding up to stand next to his mate.

Lance found himself leaning towards the red paladin without actually thinking about it and that brought a faint smile to his face. A tick later, he shook his head to clear those distracting thoughts from his mind. Now was not the time to let his attention wander.

"If it's not a base, then what is it?" he asked.

"It looks like a way station," Keith answered, frowning at the image on the view screen.

The red paladin looked down and tapped a symbol on the console after a moment of hesitation. The prince glanced at his mate a wry glance from the corner of his eye.

"Do you even know what you're pressing?" he asked incredulously.

Keith flushed and shot Lance an annoyed glare before lifting his gaze back to the looming view screen. "If you look at the size of the structure," he said, gesturing to the fuzzy image, "you can tell it's too small to be a base. Besides, I've never heard of a Galra base this far out of the way."

"What do you mean by that?" Hunk asked, approaching Keith's side.

The halfbreed titled his head to the yellow paladin next to him, acknowledging his presence without looking at him, and answered. "This isn't anyway near the main trade or military routes," he said thoughtfully, his brow furrowed in confusion. "It's much more likely that this a way station for Galra ships to refuel. But," he shook his head, a look of clear confusion on his face, "even that is stretching it. As far as I'm aware, this isn't a particularly active sector of the Empire. Or the 'Verse in general for that matter."

"Then maybe it's less of a refuel way station and more of a secret spy base," Pidge said, nudging her glasses further up her nose with an excited smile on her face.

"As much as I'm not exactly sure how I feel about you're excitement," Shiro said, rolling his eyes at the youngest paladin's reaction, "I have to agree with Pidge. Her explanation does make the most sense. Although," he frowned, "if that is the case, the it would be best if we did our best to stay under the radar."

"Agreed," Princess Allura said, crossing her arms. "But if this is a spy base-"

"Way station," Keith muttered.

"-then it's worth investigating." Allura continued, completely ignoring the red paladin's interjection. "Pidge, does the Green Lion still have your cloaking upgrade?" she asked, her turquoise eyes dropping to the Human.

"Yeah," Pidge replied with a proud smile. "It'll keep me hidden for about three minutes or so. It's not much," she admitted with a shrug, "but it's better than nothing."

Allura smiled. "On the contrary," she said, "that's perfect. If we time it with a solar flare, we can generate interference from the Castle and pass it off as cosmic interference. That should give the Green Lion extra time to fly over to the base," Keith groaned and rolled his eyes, "and land somewhere out of sight."

Pidge grinned. "You can trust me," she said with a grin. "At least I won't get captured, unlike _some_ people we know," she added with a cheeky glance at the obviously unimpressed Altean prince. "Isn't that right Jellyfish?"

One of Lance's eyebrows twitched but before he could formulate a retort, Keith snorted. Mortified, the prince's mouth dropped open and he focused the full force of his offended gaze on his mate.

"Keith?!" he cried. "Of all people…"

The red paladin shrugged helplessly. "It wasn't that bad," Keith said. "I got you out, right?"

"Actually, the Red Lion did," Lance said in a flat tone.

"And we both know she wouldn't have done it if she hadn't chosen me as her paladin so…" Keith shrugged. "I got you out. With Red's help, naturally. But then, Red didn't get you out f your cell I the first place, right?"

Lance blinked slowly. "You are absolutely sleeping alone tonight," he said.

Instantly, Keith's ears flipped forward and he stiffened, eyes wide in horror. "What?" he gasped. "But- Lance. Lance! I was just kidding. Lance?"

"Alright, you two," Shiro said, placing a hand on both Keith's and Lance's shoulders and pushing them forcefully apart, "save the lovers' spat for later. Pidge, go prep the Green Lion for launch," he commanded. "Allura," he paused to look over his shoulder at the princess, "once we're inside, how do you plan on getting the data from the base?"

"Are you… Whatever," Keith muttered, his ears flopping to rest limply his head in defeat. "I don't even care anymore."

"Shiro's right," Hunk spoke up. "We know from experience that Galra tech can't be accessed without a Galra interface of some kind like Shiro's hand," he grabbed the startled black paladin's hand and waved it bringing a flush to Shiro's cheeks, "or an _actual_ Galra like Keith."

"Halfbreed," Keith corrected. "But the basic concept is right."

Allura frowned, taking Hunk's words into consideration. She lifted her gaze back to the view screen and bit her lips. "Coran," she said suddenly, "I'd like you to oversee this venture please."

"Oh! Of course, princess," the Altean advisor said promptly. "But, if I may ask, why me? What will you be doing?"

"I promised to meet with the leader of the rebellion," she said. "If we get a message with the time and place before we finish here, then we'll need to prioritize."

"I can go in your place," Lance offered, turning to his sister. "I'm the Sentinel. They're aware of that. They should accept me as a stand-in if something comes up and you're needed here."

"I know," she said grimly.

"Y-you know," Keith said hesitantly. "I may be able to contact the rebellion myself if we don't get a reply soon."

"Don't worry about that," Lance said, shaking his head. "I can still talk to Nyma through our shards if need be."

Keith's ears folded back ever so slightly. "Yes, well, I meant I can contact them in another way," he said.

Shiro squeezed the halfbreed's shoulder, encouraging him to continue. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Keith's ears perked up when his violet and gold eyes locked on his mate. Lance frowned, then sighed and nodded. "It's alright," the prince said. "I already know. I was planning on telling Allura later on anyway."

Keith nodded and shrugged, fully aware of the lack of secrets between the Altean siblings; even if it was a bit disconcerting. "My father is under deep cover in Zarkon's ranks," he said finally. "It's one of the reasons why I was willing to help Lance escape on Sendak's battlecruiser when we first met. I've grown up watching my parents fight against the Emperor. But to do so, my father had to ignore my existence. We couldn't acknowledge each other as family except in private. My mother… I haven't seen her in a long a time, but I know she's alive and well." He smirked. "I also know she's more than willing and capable of ripping Lotor's face off if given half the chance."

"Wait," Hunk said, holding up a hand. "Your parents are alive?"

"Um, yes," Keith said slowly.

"Oh." Hunk blinked for a moment in silence. "Huh. I mean, you never talked about them before so I just assumed they were dead or something."

"No, they're alive." The red paladin grinned. "My father's managed to work his way into the higher echelons of the emperor's command which is a good thing for the rebellion but, well," he pursed his lips as if tasting something sour, "not so good for his health, if you know what I mean."

Shiro's dark gray eyes narrowed and he nodded grimly. "I believe it," he said. "I wouldn't be surprised if spies weren't treated well."

"They aren't," Keith said in a dark tone. "They're handed over to the Druids as test subjects for their latest experiments." Keith deliberately looked away when the black paladin paled in horror.

"That's actually one of the reasons why I happened to be on Sendak's battlecruiser at the time Lance was captured," Keith continued. "Sendak had his arm converted to a Druid-enhanced weapon so it wasn't deemed necessary to have a Druid on board. I tended to do my best to avoid Druids, if at all possible. They're unpredictable at best and don't even get me started on their leader."

He glanced hesitantly at Shiro who's expression darkened with unpleasant memories. "Haggar," he murmured. Keith pressed his lips together in a thin line and nodded.

"Who?" Coran asked.

"Haggar," Shiro said louder. "She's the witch in charge of the Druids. She's more powerful than they are, more vicious, and absolutely loyal to Zarkon."

"Try fanatically loyal," Keith said. "Lotor was still in her good graces last I checked, but if he ever tried to pull a queue-thing you mentioned-"

"Coup," Shiro said, a smile quirking is lips despite the grim atmosphere. "It's short for 'coup d'etat."

Keith's ears twitched. "Which still means nothing to me," he said.

"It's French," Hunk offered helpfully. "Basically, a coup d'etat is a sudden political move that essentially replaces the current government with another regime." He shrugged. "I can be anything from the prince killing the king and taking the throne to completely overthrowing a monarchy and replacing it with literally anything else."

Keith nodded. "Okay. Then if Lotor ever tried to pull a coup, Haggar would not support him," he said, focusing his violet and gold gaze on the princess. "Most of the Druids would follow Haggar's lead, but I'm willing to bet more than a few would support Lotor's rise to power."

"You know," Pidge said, "I mean, just throwing this out there, but this whole thing sounds a lot like one of those 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' things."

"Y-yeah, until you remember the guy who said was eventually killed by one of those so-called 'friends,'" Hunk said.

Pidge grimaced. "I didn't say it was good idea," she said, "but it _is_ an idea. It's at least an option. Think about it. Keith just said Lotor doesn't have the full support of the entire Druid enclave-thing or, from what I understand, the rest of the general Galran populace. Right?" she aimed at Keith.

The red paladin nodded. "It's close," Keith admitted, "but the majority of the Galra don't particularly like him, no. They respect him for his military expertise and ability to weed out spies and rebel bases. But his personal life is…" He flushed. "Well, let's just say off-putting and leave it at that." He glanced significantly at Lance who flushed and looked away.

"Okay then," Pidge said. "That's something. Again, this is just an idea here, but what if we helped Lotor take the throne? That would add a lot of firepower to our arsenal and we'd have a common enemy so chances are he won't attack us until _after_ Zarkon's dealt with."

"Dead, you mean?" Lance asked.

"Well, yeah," Pidge admitted. "Probably."

Allura frowned and considered her paladins' words carefully, lifting her gaze to the small way station on the view screen. After a moment, she sighed and looked directly at her brother. Lance grimaced, knowing what he was being asked to do. There was room to refuse. Allura wouldn't hold his refusal against him. But refusing meant giving up a potentially lucrative opportunity to get rid of Zarkon. At the very least the power upheaval would split the Galra Empire which would weaken it and open it up to a breakup from within.

"I'll handle that," he said finally.

He felt Keith grab his shoulder and squeeze worryingly. Lance covered his mate's hand with his own, forestalling any verbal response Keith would have made.

"We'll talk late," he said softly, meeting his mate's eyes. "I promise."

Keith's ears pinned to his head in obvious distaste but he held his tongue, for now. Lance wasn't looking forward to their inevitable talk, but he would keep his word.

"If he's doing that, then I'm going with him," Keith said suddenly. "Lotor's seen my face. He knows I'm Lance's mate and that I'm a paladin of Volton. Seeing me wouldn't give any of you away and I'll know if something happens to Lance."

"You act like I can't defend myself," Lance grumbled.

"Well, in his defense," Hunk said, "you did get captured just hours after we met."

"By the Lions," the prince groaned loudly. "That was one time. _One_ time."

"One time too many. Alright," Allura said in relief. "Pidge, do you think you can get anything useful from the base without Keith of Shiro's input?"

Pidge thought a moment. "Yeah, probably," she said. "If Hunk's there to help me, it shouldn't be too big of a problem. I could bring Rover with us just in case we do need a Galra interface."

"Good," Allura, nodding. "Coran?"

"Yes, princess?" the advisor answered promptly.

"Stay in the Castle and keep an eye on them," Allura commanded. "Help them get in and out of there as quickly and efficiently as possible without getting caught. This is strictly a data retrieval venture," she said aiming a stern look at the green paladin. "Don't take any unnecessary risks, understood?"

Pidge saluted in what must have been an Earth style with the side of her hand pressing against her forehead, palm down. "Yes ma'am," she said.

Allura smiled and turned her attention to the black paladin. "Shiro," she said. "I would like you to accompany me to the meet the rebellion's leader, if you would."

"You didn't have to ask," Shiro said, an encouraging smile on his face.

"About that," Keith said, holding up a finger to catch the group's attention. "When you meet her-"

"Her?" Pidge said in surprise, whirling around to face the red paladin. "The rebel leader's a _she?"_

"Um, yes" Keith said, blushing faintly. "Tell her, 'Keithek says hello,' and she'll probably be more open with you."

Allura's white eyebrows dropped low over her eyes. "Keith," she said slowly, "do you know the rebel leader?"

"Yeah," Keith said. "She's my mom."

"Your _mom?"_ Hunk cried.

"What?" Shiro gasped.

"No freaking way," Pidge said, practically bouncing in excitement.

Lance stared at his mate utterly dumbstruck. Keith noticed the prince's shock and flushed, shrugging awkwardly.

"Why didn't you say anything before?" Shiro demanded.

Keith's ears lifted slightly but the flush never left his mauve cheeks. "She's my mother," she said in growing annoyance. "Do you go around telling people who your family is? Especially when one of them is a spy and the other a rebel leader?"

"Ah," Hunk said. "That…makes sense."

"What's her name?" Lance asked.

Keith hesitated. "Romelle," he said finally. "Last I heard, she was hiding out, moving from place to place, so I'm not sure where she is at the moment. But I know how to find out."

"We're all ears," Shiro said.

"My mother's rebellion isn't the only one out there," Keith explained. "They allied with the Blade of Marmora which is actually the original rebel group. Zarkon could never thorough destroy them." He smiled proudly. "My father was a member of their rebellion before he met my mother."

"So now he plays for both sides of the field?" Lance wondered. "Clever."

"Coming from you," Pidge said, "I'm almost tempted to laugh."

The prince blinked. "I'm…not sure what you mean by that," he said, eyeing the shortest paladin carefully.

"That's why you're a jellyfish," she said easily.

"Says the shrub," Lance shot back.

"You little shit," Pidge growled.

"Guys," Shiro said in his 'Dad' voice. "Save it. Keith, you were saying."

"Right. I wasn't able to become an official member of the Blade, but I have the knife my father gave me," he said, removing the short dagger he always had strapped to his side. He held it out so the purple sigil inscribed on the base of the blade near the handle. "This is their symbol. If you can't track down Romelle, then try contacting the Blade. They may be hesitant, but they want Zarkon dead almost as much as we do."

Allura nodded, absorbing the new information. "Change of plan then," she said. "Hunk, stay here with Pidge and Coran. Keith, go with Lance and see if you can find a way to contact Lotor or track down the Blade of Marmora. Shiro, you're with me."

"What do you want me to do if Nyma contacts me using her shard?" Lance asked.

"Tell her we're ready when they are," Allura said. "If you don't hear from her by tonight, try contacting her instead."

Lance nodded. "Understood."

"Fly with Lions, paladins," the princess said. "It's time we brought this battle to Zarkon."


	111. PART 4 - 111: Purpose

**A/N:** Back from my cruise. Boy do I have stories: good, bad, and weird. Long story short: it was fun, internet was ridiculous expensive, and I came back with a cold. Yay~ Well, at least I can finally update again. ^_^

 **Side note:** Pukaj is a a character from the original series who served Merla, but was never named. So I gave him one and a bit more personality than the original series portrayed.

 **Chapter summary:** In which Lance does some explaining, Keith is insulted (maybe), and Merla peddles sweets.

* * *

 **111: Purpose**

"I cannot believe she asked you to do that," Keith muttered just loud enough for Lance to hear.

The prince heaved a sigh. "If she hadn't asked, I would have offered," he said.

"What?" Keith gasped, staring at Lance in shock. _"Why?"_

"Because Pidge is right," he replied calmly. "It _is_ a good idea and definitely worth looking into. Besides," he added, his lips forming a grim line, "we need all the help we can get right now."

It was an unpleasant truth that everyone in their little team was becoming more and more aware of. No matter how powerful Voltron was, it was still one weapon that was not original intended to be a weapon, wielded by five paladins, a princess, and an advisor from all over time and space. They were a force to be reckoned with, no question. But they were not unstoppable. At the very least, Zarkon still had them in hole as far as technology and sheer numbers were concerned.

The number of times they had miscalculated or made bad calls due to relying on ancient information was too shameful to count. The only excuse Lance could conceivably accept was that, until several turns ago, the 'ancient' information stored in the Castle's databases as well as the Alteans' memories was current and up-to-date. Sometimes it was easy to forget he was not simply on an excursion with the Lions of Voltron to fight the Galra. When he did inevitably remember how long it had been since everything began, it took almost every ounce of self-control to not curl up in a corner and cry.

Lance still wasn't sure how Allura and Coran were handling the transition. The young prince hadn't seen either cry or vent or do anything remotely similar to mourning. He knew his sister and uncle well. As both Alteans and Lance's family, he worried for them. Alteans were social creatures; they needed emotion and expression and other people like lifeblood. Lance was beginning to suspect Allura and Coran were bottling their emotions up which, Lance knew from experience, was never the right decision.

This war should have ended ages ago. How was the Galra Empire still in existence? By all reasoning, it should have collapsed in on itself millennia ago. No empire in the history of the 'Verse ever existed as long as the Galra Empire had. It simply wasn't plausible. Some rebellion should have risen to challenge the Empire somewhere, somehow. Voltron, the rebellion led by this Romelle, the Blade of Marmora, they couldn't be the only rebellions. They couldn't be.

Their little Voltron team… There was so little they knew and so much they _needed_ to know. They needed allies. They needed _friends_.

"We need all the help we can get," he whispered again.

Arms slipped around his waist and something warm and solid pressed against his back. "True," Keith said by Lance's ear. "But we aren't alone. We aren't helpless either."

"I know that," Lance said, lifting his gaze back to the view screen. "But we don't have the advantage either. The Galra are periods ahead of our technology. One blast from their ion canon drains the particle barrier much faster than I'm comfortable with. And that's just the beginning of the list. We have a lot of work ahead of us." He sighed and tilted his head so it rested against Keith's, smiling when he felt his mate's furry ear twitch so its wasn't squished between them.

"True," Keith agreed. "But you're thinking too far ahead. Let's just focus on tracking down the rebellions and finding allies. There will always be more worlds to free."

"Don't remind me," the prince grumbled. "I suppose with no one to fight them on even ground made resisting them difficult."

For a teck, the two just stood together in silence.

"You know," Keith said, "don't think I didn't notice the way you didn't answer my question earlier."

"What question?" Lance asked.

"About why you volunteered to deal with Lotor," the red paladin practically growled.

Lance sighed. "It made sense," he said. "Lotor knows about me. He knows my face and yours, he's already hunting me, he-"

"Is _obsessed_ with you!" Keith said, pulling away from Lance and stepping to the side so he could see his mate's face. "He's made you his new pet project just like he does for any rebel base he gets wind of. Why do you think it's been so difficult to bring him down? He's ruthless and efficient. I don't think I've ever heard of a time when he _hasn't_ gotten what he wants."

"He doesn't have the throne," Lance said, catching Keith gaze from the corner of his eye. A smirk slithered its way onto his face. "And I can only imagine how badly he wants that."

The red paladin pressed his lips together and leveled the prince with a flat glare. "He also wants you," he said to which Lance groaned and rolled his eyes. "Especially now that you practically handed yourself to him on a jewel encrusted platter not a _cycle_ ago," Keith continued, stepping back into the prince's line of sight. "Lotor _let_ you go. He enjoys the chase. It's a thrill to him. Don't you see?" Keith said in exasperation.

"I _do_ see, Keith," Lance snapped, immediately regretting the harshness when he saw the grimace on his mate's face. He sighed and counted to three to calm down before continuing. "I do see," he said again. "I really do. But this was the plan, all along. I'm the bait, Allura is the prize. I'm expendable, she isn't."

"You are _not_ expendable!" Keith cried, eyes wide.

Lance held up his hands to stave off any further emotional outbursts. "That's- That's not what I meant," he said quickly, trying to calm the red paladin down.

"It _is_ though," Keith insisted. "You always say you're expendable when you're _not._ Why don't you _see_ that?"

The prince heaved a sigh. "I do see that," he said. "But I need you to see things from my point of view to understand. Just hear me out before interrupting, alright? Can you do that for me?"

Keith glared but managed to take a deep breath and steady himself. "Fine," he said.

Lance flashed a weak smile in gratitude. "Look," he began before stopping and trying again. "Keith, I may have chosen you over my sister when Fa- when that perverse A.I. dared me," he said, "but I still have to remember my duty as the Sentinel. That doesn't just go away. Please don't understand," he said quickly when Keith glowered, shifting in frustration. "I don't regret my choice. I never will. But I was a Sentinel before I ever met you. I swore an oath, Keith. The Galra take oaths seriously; so please understand that I do too."

Keith bit his lip and looked away, clearly fighting the urge to speak.

"The Sentinel exists to protect the Heir," Lance said. "Sentinels also have their own lives, their own joys, their own families, everything. We're still our own person. But we are also Sentinels with all the duties and responsibilities attached to that title. That's why the title was never given lightly."

"I may not have been the first choice for Allura's Sentinel," Lance continued, "but that doesn't change the fact I am her Sentinel now. I take that duty seriously. I have to. Keith," he placed both hands on his mate's slumped shoulders, encouraging the red paladin to look up and meet his eyes. "Keith, I _have_ to. If Allura dies, then everything we've done, everything we've worked for, everything we've lost, _everything_ will have been for nothing. Allura is the _only one_ who can control Voltron," the prince said.

"I know," Keith said, resting his hand over one of Lance's. "I know that. I just don't see why she can't just change that. Your father made that 'Voltron only works for the Heir' rule, so why can't the Heir herself break it?"

"She probably can," Lance said. "But I don't want her to, and I don't think she wants to either."

"What?" Keith gasped. "Why? Why would she be so selfish to-"

"Because she wants to live," Lance said fiercely, startling his mate. "We woke up with no planet, no people, no culture, nothing. We only had each other and Voltron. Think about that, Keith. You, me, Pidge, Hunk, Shiro: we're all paladins of Voltron. We pilot the Lions and fight Zarkon directly. We have a purpose. What do Allura and Coran have?"

"Allura leads us," Keith said. "She helps us and… Coran is like a parent or friend I can talk to and confide in and…"

Lance smiled sadly. "Allura is the Heir of Altea. Neither she nor I were ever intended to be involved with Voltron. The Sentinel and the Heir were peaceful positions intended to lead, guide, watch, and protect Altea and Altea alone. The Heir protects Altea, the Sentinel protects the Heir and, by extension, Altea. Voltron, with the help of the Castle of Lions, was designed to be a protector of other worlds should they require it for whatever reason. Evacuation, restoration, rejuvenation, defense from an asteroid impact, anything of that sort. It was _never_ intended to be a weapon."

"But it _is_ a weapon," Keith said.

 _"Anything_ can be a weapon, Keith," Lance said. "But yes, that is what many people in power thought. That's why the paladin positions were opened to any race, not just Alteans. Representatives from other planets worried Voltron's creation was a move by Altea to become more powerful. It took some effort for us to convince them otherwise. Although, I sincerely doubt we ever fully succeeded."

"But if you or Allura weren't supposed to be involved with Voltron, then how were you supposed to protect Altea?" Keith asked, shaking his head. "What if an asteroid came hurtling towards Altea or a weblum came and tried to blast Altea into oblivion? Wouldn't you use Voltron to protect yourselves?"

"Of course, we would," Lance said. "But Altea had its own defenses which were powered by the Heir and the Sentinel. Voltron was only ever a last resort."

"That _still_ doesn't tell me anything," Keith said, stepping away from Lance's grasp in frustration. He ran a hand down his face and began pacing along the front of the bridge. "What does this have to do with you facing Lotor? What does this have to do with Allura and Coran? What does-"

"Without Altea to protect, Allura and I had no purpose," Lance said, cutting off the red paladin's tirade. "The Heir and Sentinel are intrinsically tied to Altea and its people. With those gone, we are aimless. We else do you think Allura was so set on giving a group of strangers she'd only just met the Lions of Voltron? Why else do you think she immediately began resisting the Galra? Where do you think she gets the desire, the _need_ to continue fighting like she is?"

Keith closed his eyes and his ears folded down to rest on his head. "I can guess," he said quietly.

"Because it was the only thing she _could_ do," Lance finished. "It was all either of us could do. We had lost our purpose." He cautiously approached his mate, reaching out to weave his fingers between Keith's. "Can you fault us for clinging to the purpose we've finally found?"

Keith's lips twitched up in a hesitant smile but he never opened his eyes.

"I have Allura, my Heir, Coran, the Blue Lion, and now you and my fellow paladins," Lance said, stepping closer. "Fighting Zarkon with Voltron as the Blue Lion's paladin has become my duty. You, Allura, Coran, Hunk, Pidge, Shiro, and the Lions have become my Altea. Being Allura's Sentinel," he said, lifting their entwined hands so he could press them to his chest, "and being your mate have become my purposes."

Keith's ears lifted slightly just as beautiful violet and gold eyes opened and focused on the prince's ocean blue gaze.

"Please don't fault me for continuing to be Allura's Sentinel," Lance pleaded, his voice just above a whisper. "It's familiar, something from home to cling to. Even if I wasn't her Sentinel, I would still do the same thing because she's my sister and I care for her."

* * *

"I… I understand," Keithek replied just as softly, resting his forehead against Lance's. "I guess I just don't…" He sighed. "Sometimes I think I'll lose you to her."

"Lose me?" Lance repeated in confusion.

Keithek nodded, his lips quirking in a smile when the motion made Lance's head move too. "You're both…" His smile faded. "To be honest, the way you two act with each other, I sometimes wonder if you're lovers."

The prince hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe I would have considered courting her if we weren't related," he said. "But since we _are_ related, I find the idea both revolting and pointless."

"That doesn't exactly do wonders for my self-esteem, you know," Keithek grumbled, aiming a half-hearted glare at the Altean.

"Yes, well, you weren't exactly born yet when I would have asked her," Lance said wryly.

Keithek bit his lip. "And if I had been?" he asked after a moment.

"If you had been, and I'd met you," Lance said, considering the question, "I think I would have flirted with you, at the very least. If you reciprocated, then maybe I'd consider asking to court you. If you didn't ask me first, that is," he added with a grin and playful wink.

"And what about your father?" Keithek pressed, lifting his free hand up to brush the scar by his mate's cybernetic eye.

Lance's playfulness vanished, replaced by a blank expression. "I… I don't know," he said finally, leaning away from Keithek's hand.

Keithek frowned, slipping his hand back into Lance's hair and gripping it tight, preventing his mate from retreating. "Don't run from me," he said fiercely. "Never run from me. Please."

The prince sighed but leaned back so his forehead touched Keithek's. The red paladin eased his grip, returning his hand to Lance's cheek, brushing his thumb over the damaged eye scale. He didn't miss the way Lance sighed and his eyes fluttered when the scale was touched. It was one of his favorite things to see.

"One day," Keithek said, "I want you to tell me all about Altea." Lance opened his eyes and met Keithek's gaze. "I want to know about the juniberry festival, the Sentinels and Heirs, the traditions, the Collegium, your family, everything. I want to know everything."

Keithek watched mismatched blue eyes as secretive as the ocean widened, tears catching in dark lashes. Then those eyes closed and the tears tangled in lashes finally broke free and slid down Lance's cheeks.

"One day," Lance whispered, "I'll have the courage to show you."

Show him?

Lance brushed their noses together in a brief nuzzle before stepping back. "I have to get ready to leave," he said. "You should too." He grinned. "Fluffy Ears."

Keithek blinked, his mauve cheeks darkening as the blood rushed into them. "Did you just _insult_ me?" he cried in indignation.

"Was it an insult?" Lance asked, a teasing smirk on his face.

He could feel the heat in his cheeks intensify and his ears droop closer and closer to his hair the more he thought about Lance's little name for him. If it wasn't an insult, then was it maybe…

"You can _not_ call me that," Keithek said. He absently wondered if the heat from his blush would make his cheeks glow.

"I just did, Fluffy Ears," Lance said in a sing-song voice, spinning on his heel and strolling towards the door on the far side of the bridge. "Oh dear," he said, pausing a covering his mouth in mock surprise. "I said it again. What ever will you do to stop me?"

Keithek's cheeks blazed, his ears flipping up and forward. "Calm me that again," he growled in warning.

Lance's eyes narrowed and he said slowly, deliberately pronouncing both words clearly, "Fluffy. Ears."

He may or may not have squeaked when he ran out of the bridge as fast as his feet could carry him. Was it a pity the lift didn't come fast enough for him to make good his escape? Was it? Was it really?

Nope.

* * *

When Merla first stepped into her transport, her microraptor left her shoulder in favor of the steel perch bolted to the wall in her personal room where it still was. Merla, however, had elected to sit in the copilot seat next to her only other companion, an elderly Polluxian by the name Pukaj. The man was physically old, but his mind and eyes were still as sharp as Merla's microraptor's talons.

He provided stimulating conversation without the unnecessary annoyances a younger man would bring. He was also an excellent pilot and Merla most trusted employee. Whatever Pukaj saw or heard would remain in the strictest confidence. Perhaps that was why she chose to confide in him.

"Sleep well, did you?" Pukaj asked wryly.

Perhaps not. Merla shot the man a mild glare through the corner of her eye before smirking. "I would have," she said, "if I'd slept."

"I'm sure," Pukaj said.

"The Galra are rather active at the moment," the Trader said mildly, watching the Galran fighters dart through the air in Meserie's particle barrier protected atmosphere. "I assume our precious prince has decided to leave already."

"Actually, he's been gone for a while now," Pukaj said, his eyes remaining fixed on the airspace around their little vessel. "He left about half a teck before you arrived, my lady."

"Did he now?" Merla looked out the main view screen at the approaching exit gate through the particle barrier. "I was under the impression he was waiting for someone."

Pukaj merely shrugged. "I only know what I've heard," he said.

"And that would be?" Merla asked, palming a particular sweet treat into Pukaj's lap.

"Apparently, someone paid a visit to Lotor before leading him on a while wake angel chase," Pukaj said, plucking the treat out of his lap and popping it easily into his mouth. "Hear that someone got away too. Though," he added with a shrug, "whether this someone actually escaped or Lotor _let_ them get away is up for debate."

"Really?" Merla asked, palming another treat into Pukaj's lap.

"Mm, yes," the pilot said, sucking on the new treat happily. "Though, I personally think Lotor let them get away. Bet he thinks the hunt will be worth it."

Merla hummed. "This 'someone' have a name?" she asked, holding out a third treat right in front of Pukaj's mouth. She didn't flinch when the old man took the sweet from her fingers.

"I'm sure he does," Pukaj said around his latest mouthful. "'Though I think he goes by a title or whatever. Sentinel, or something like that."

"I see," Merla said, pulling her fingers back and examining them curiously. Then she stood and patted Pukaj's shoulder, rubbing the specks of saliva off on the pilot's sleeve. "Set a course for Pollux, please," she said. "I need a fresh batch of wine."

"As you wish, my lady," Pukaj called.


	112. PART 4 - 112: Family

**A/N:** Sorry for the delay. My thesis is literally taking over my life right now. Then I got sick and yeah... But all that aside, I feel like I need to confess something to y'all.

Basically, something significant happened in my real life last year that I wasn't ready for at all: emotionally, mentally, etc. I broke up with my fiance. It was the right decision and I don't regret it, but it was hard for a good long while there.

It made me lose the energy to write. The desire was there (it never went away), but the will to go through with it vanished. That just made it harder. It was like wanting desperately to eat food when you have a stomach virus, but knowing anything you do eat will just get thrown up. But the hunger never goes away. It just keeps getting worse until the virus finally goes away. It was absolutely miserable.

Thankfully, my mate **Raelyn_Sakura** , my family, and several other close friends were there to help me through that. It took a while for the will to write to return though. I started writing this series by accident. I was lurking kinkmemes searching for a prompt that could make me interested enough to finally start writing again. I found a prompt I liked and forced myself to start writing. It took me until the middle of _Part 2_ of _Warmth_ ( _Chill_ if you're reading on AO3) to realize I was writing again!

Now I'm back, hopefully for good. I'm working on a thesis for my Master's though while taking full time classes in college and working so I don't have too much time, but I have enough time. This fic and my other fic _Shadows Ascending_ are now my main focuses writing-wise. Other than my thesis, of course.

None of this would have happened if it hadn't been for all y'all's constant kudos and comments encouraging me to keep writing. So thank you all from the bottom of my heart for helping me through that rough time. This series is for y'all as well as me, but this particular chapter is dedicated to you, my loyal and amazing readers. Bless all of your beautiful hearts and thank you~

 **Chapter summary:** In which Rolo vents to a semi-trusted listener, Someone begins to make sense of the information, and Coran thinks.

* * *

 **112: Family**

His pride was definitely suffering from the hit. It probably would for a good long while. He dropped his head into his hands with a sigh.

"Oh, don't be like that," Merla said from her place in the co-pilot's chair.

He lifted his head just enough to glare at her over his hands. She smiled and chuckled, unaffected.

"Just remember you asked _me_ for help and not the other way around," she said, turning her chair so she could look back out the main view screen.

"Kiss a Galra smeg, bitch," Rolo snapped.

Again, Merla just chuckled, shrugging the insult off with ease. "You complain a lot, you know," she said in a mild tone. "How Nyma manages to stand your presence for longer than a few minutes is beyond me. Reminds me why I like to work alone."

The elderly pilot currently flying Merla's transport cleared his throat and tapped her on the shoulder.

"My apologies," Merla said, reaching out to pat the man's hand companionably. _"Mostly_ alone," she corrected. "Pukaj here is the best partner to have."

"Debatable," Rolo grumbled, dropping his gaze and letting his face sink back behind his fingers with a sigh. After a teck or two of welcome silence, Rolo ran his hands over his face and through his messy white hair. "Look, I don't care for your jokes or your obnoxiousness or you, quite frankly."

"Mm, the feeling's mutual," Merla said.

"But neither of us want Nyma in prison," Rolo said, gritting his teeth at Merla's voice. "And don't talk about Nyma like you know her," he snapped. "She's my partner, not yours."

The red-haired Trader smirked. "If you say so," she said, still in a very good mood.

"I _do_ say so," Rolo hissed.

Merla shrugged. "She may be your partner in business, but she was my partner in bed."

"One of many," Rolo said.

"Same could be said for me," Merla said, giving her impromptu guest a wink. "Teasing aside," she said, turn her seat so she faced Rolo fully, "why were you so insistent I take you along?"

"You have direct access to the Leader," Rolo said. "How or why that is are questions I probably don't want to know the answers to. But you know her and I need to talk to her."

"You could just go through Manset," Merla said, placing her elbow on her armrest and supporting her chin with a perfectly manicured finger. "You always have before. What could be so important that you'd change protocol now?"

Rolo glared at the female Trader angrily. "It's Nyma. She's my _family_ Pythoness. What was I supposed to do?"

"Follow protocol," Merla said, her eyes narrowing in controlled fury. "By not doing so, you're testing the chain of command."

"We don't _have_ a chain of command," Rolo shouted. "We haven't been able to make a significant move against the Empire for a year."

"So you're throwing a temper tantrum?" Merla said flatly, lifting a disdainful eyebrow.

"What I'm doing is driving home the point that our rebellion is stagnant," Rolo snapped, standing from his seat so he could loom over an unimpressed Merla and vent his frustration. "You know it. I know it. Lotor knows it. Frell, I bet even Zarkon knows it."

He threw up his hands and paced as he continued his tirade. "Then this Voltron comes along and succeeds in making a noticeable dent in the Empire's forces faster than we ever could. And you want to know the best part? Their team is just a group of five people. Five people, Merla," he said, turning to the woman who still sat watching him. "Five people have done more than our rebellion has since we started."

Merla pursed her lips and lifted an eyebrow. "Are you quite finished?" she drawled in a bored tone.

Rolo sneered. "Yes," he hissed. "Although why I even bothered is beyond me."

"You bothered because, whether you like it or not, you trust me on some level," Merla said. "A foolish decision, but a decision nonetheless. You know I have the influence needed to convince the Leader to make a move. You also know I have the power to manipulate certain people of high standing and political prestige. And you would be stupid if you didn't know about my personal connection to Lotor."

"I don't care who you sleep with-"

"Don't disrespect me, Rolo," Merla said, raising her voice for the first time since Rolo boarded her vessel. He watched as the woman's eyes gleamed with fury. "I may prefer to be more free with my body than the average person in my position, but even _I_ have enough self-respect not to sleep with a filthy snake like Lotor."

"Could've fooled me," Rolo said, daring Merla to respond.

Golden eyes narrowed in a formidable glare but Merla said nothing. Instead, she sniffed. "Normally, I would space someone for insulting me like that outside of a Trade," she said. "But considering I'm aware you're lashing out at me because of your partner's capture, I'll let it slide. This time. Do not make the same mistake again, Rolo. I don't give second chances."

Rolo held Merla's glare but didn't push his luck by opening his mouth. He knew Merla would make good on her threat if she wanted to. Besides, she was right. Normally, Rolo wouldn't lash out at anyone, particularly anyone in a higher position than him in the Trader's Guild. Merla could easily make his life in the Guild a living hell if she wanted to.

"Now," Merla said, adjusting her position so one leg cross over the other and settled back comfortably in her chair. "Tell me why you broke protocol and contacted me. The truth this time," she added, resting her palms on her knee.

Rolo licked his lips and focused on organizing his thoughts enough to put his desire to words. "You know Nyma was captured," he said finally. "You also know Nyma was privy to a lot that goes on in our ranks."

"I am," Merla said steadily.

Rolo shifted his feet and looked everywhere but Merla as he forced himself to spit out his next words. "Yeah, well, what you _don't_ know is that Nyma and I may have…" He pursed his lips. "Gone rogue at one point," he finished.

Merla snorted inelegantly. "You two?" she said in disbelief. "Rogue? I'll believe it when I see it."

"Remember that reward out for the Champion?" Rolo said, plowing over Merla's words. "Remember how much it is?" Merla's golden eyes darkened and Rolo continued. "Nyma and I… We were down on our luck," Rolo began. "Our last Trade sucked a Galra's smeg. We had no way of getting rid of our cargo which is why we came to Meserie sooner than planned and why we don't have our usual ship."

"Yes, I did wonder about that," Merla said, tilting her chin down in a minute nod.

"Well, our old ship got busted up real bad," Rolo said. "It broke down by a planetoid in one of the smaller systems. We managed to land it and send out a distress signal. We were planning on a passing ship to come give us a hand. What we weren't planning on was for the Voltron team to help us out instead." He swallowed thickly and fought the urge to pace. "The Champion was there with them," he said. "He's one of their paladins."

"Paladins?" Merla asked.

"The pilots of those Lions," Rolo said. "Like the one you saw in Keith's mind. Keith's the paladin of the Red Lion."

Merla tapped her lower lip thoughtfully and nodded for him to continue.

"It was my idea," Rolo admitted. "I'm not proud of it, but I take full responsibility. Nyma went along with it. We needed the money." He reached up and scratched his messy hair, pulling off his aviator hat and toying with it to keep his hands busy. "We waited until the Voltron team finished helping us fix our ship enough to fly and the rest of them headed back into their flying Castle-"

"Flying Castle?" Merla said, both of her eyebrows lifted. "You can't be serious."

"Oh, very serious," Rolo said, his own eyes widening as he nodded. "You didn't see it, Merla. It's a literal Castle that flies. I could not make that up."

Merla's eyes narrowed and Rolo fought back a flinch when he felt the woman nudge his thoughts so the image of the Castleship was clear and bold in his mind's eye. Her eyes grew round and she hummed.

"Impressive," she purred.

"Yeah," Rolo agreed, nodding enthusiastically. "And it packs some serious firepower too."

He met Merla's gaze directly and deliberately thought of the blast of white fired from the Castleship that obliterated the entire Galra fleet. Had the memory of the event not been so horrific, he probably would have laughed at Merla's reaction. The woman stumbled to her feet, her eyes wide.

The hoarse squawk rang from behind Rolo was all the warning he got before Merla's microraptor flew past his head. He instinctively flinched away from the feathers and sharp talons, watching as the creature land on its mistress's shoulder.

"What was that?" Merla demanded, her voice soft in shock.

Rolo opened his mouth to answer but nothing came out.

"Rolo, what was that?" Merla demanded. "Tell me now."

"I don't- I have no idea," he said, shaking his head. "One of their team, Coran I think his name was, said it was some sort of quintessence beam thing. But I didn't really understand everything. You'd have to ask the Sentinel if you want a full explanation."

"Sentinel," Merla muttered. "I've been hearing that name more and more."

"He's… Well, the leader of the Voltron team I suppose," Rolo said carefully.

"You suppose?" Merla said, eyeing Rolo carefully.

Rolo drew himself up to his full height and met Merla's gaze. "I can't tell you much because of client-Trader confidentiality," he said. "But I can say he has quite a bit of sway in the Voltron team."

"I see," Merla purred, running her fingers through her pet's feathers absently.

"I can tell you a few things, though," he said. "He's Altean, insane, and obsessed with keeping the Galra's attention on him."

Merla glanced at Rolo, frowning. "Why?"

He just gave her a look and she hummed, crossing her arms over her cheast and turning to the main view screen. The brilliant colors of the slipstream still filled the screens, brightening the cockpit in a rainbow glow.

"He's bait, isn't he?" she said softly, her mind quickly connecting the dots of the puzzle laid out before her. "A distraction. Where there's bait, there's a prize. Where there's a distraction, there's something we aren't meant to see. What is it?"

Rolo didn't answer.

"What does all this have to do with Nyma?" Merla asked suddenly.

"She's the Sentinel's direct contact," Rolo said, drawing the woman's gaze. "She has a crystal that allows her to communicate with the Sentinel directly. He has one just like it. It works. No delay between messages, visual and audible communication, and portable."

"What's the catch?" Merla asked shrewdly.

"From what I understand," Rolo said, "the two crystals are…" he paused, choosing his words carefully, "linked to their respective owners. The owners trade the crystals and can now communicate between one another directly. Nyma has the Sentinel's and he has hers. She can only contact him and he can only contact her through them."

"Clever," Merla murmured. "Risks?"

"I'm not sure I understand the details, but basically if someone else took Nyma's crystal and figured out how to use it," Rolo shrugged, "then they could spy on the Sentinel directly and he would have no idea. Granted, this interloper person wouldn't be able to hear anything the Sentinel said, but they could see him and watch him. The same goes for Nyma and her crystal."

"That's a serious catch," Merla said.

"It was a good faith gift," Rolo said. "He asked us to help him but didn't have anything to trade that would be useful so he gave us that."

"You didn't ask for anything else?"

"We did, but he refused the other choices." Rolo sighed. "Knowing what I do now about this quintessence stuff, I'm beginning to understand why."

Merla nodded slowly. "This Sentinel," she said, "I'm assuming he knows that halfbreed that came to trade with me, Keith."

"He'd better," Rolo said. "They're mates."

Merla stilled, a slow smile slithering across her face. "Are they now?" she purred. Her microraptor clicked its beak and made a pleased, warbling sound that didn't sound half-bad. "Well then, with information like that, who am I to keep the Leader waiting?"

"Is that payment enough?" Rolo asked.

Merla gave him a cursory glance before dismissing him. "Yes, thank you," she said. "Consider our Trade completed. We'll deliver you to the Leader and leave you to your own devices from there."

"Thank you, Merla," Rolo said, trying his best not to vomit the words.

The woman actually did look at him them, studying him closely, before returning to the main view screen. "You're welcome," she said, taking a seat in the co-pilot's seat. "Now leave me and friend here," she patted the arm of the old man still flying the ship, "alone. Your presence is tiring."

Rolo rolled his eyes and mouthed Merla's words with a sarcastic expression as he walked back to his seat. He kicked his feet up onto the ledge nearby, sank down into the seat cushions, flopped his hat over his face to block out the light from the slipstream, folded his hands on his chest, and tried to sleep. He may or may not have been slapped awake when he started to snore.

* * *

Coran patted the dirt around the juniberry flower with the upmost care. The main blossom was still just as bright and beautiful as last cycle, which wasn't a surprise really. It had only been one cycle, after all. It just felt like so much longer.

Finally, he had a piece of Altea back. He had his two wards alive and well, Voltron and its paladins, and now the juniberry flower. Strange how something so small could carry with it so much hope. He had no desire to have children anymore. That time had long past; even if it only felt like a few turns since his beloved and his children lost their lives. He had his family. He had always seen Allura and Lance as his family but now he had the paladins as well. They may not be related by blood, but they were Coran's family, his children.

As long as they needed him, he would be here for them.

"Coran? You in here?"

Smiling to himself, Coran sat up from the small garden and dusted the dirt off his hands. "Yes, Hunk," he called. "I'm here. What is it?"

The yellow paladin walked into the observatory from the lift tube with a curious expression on his face. Worried, Coran moved to stand before Hunk waved him back. The paladin sat down next to the Advisor with his legs crossed and sighed.

"You did a good job," Hunk said, smiling and nodding at the plant.

Coran beamed proudly. "Thank you," he said, gazing down at the little flower. "It'll take time, but it'll grow and spread until it fills this whole bed."

"It- What?" Hunk gasped. "It will?"

"Oh yes," Coran said. "The juniberry is a plant that grows by extending its roots down into the ground then outwards in all directions. New stems grow from the roots, produce leaves which help the plant convert light into food and flowers which attract attention, and then produce berries which are typically either eaten by Alteans or other animals or fall to the ground and begin the whole process again."

Hunk tilted his head curiously and frowned. "Okay, that all makes sense," he said. "But where does the Altean energy come in? I thought the juniberry used Altean energy to make energy."

"It does," Coran said, nodding. "That's why the wild plant would grow near Altean settlements." At Hunk's confused look, the Advisor hummed. "Put it this way," he said. "You are Human and need oxygen to breathe. But you can survive underwater as long as you have access to oxygen, correct?"

Hunk's brow furrowed. "I mean, yeah," he said. "As long as we can breathe from the oxygen tank and the oxygen doesn't run out, then yeah. We could survive like that. It wouldn't be much of an existence though."

He sat up suddenly and his eyes grew wide. "I get it, I think," he said. "That's why the plant survived this long."

The Advisor nodded. "I would assume so," he said. "But, honestly, I think…" He glanced at the lift door to be sure they were alone before continuing. "Don't tell Allura or Lance this," he said. "But I think there might be some colonies of Alteans somewhere, survivors of the massacre."

"What?" Hunk gasped. "That's great! Why wouldn't you want to tell Lance and Allura that? That's good news."

"I don't want to give them hope before I have proof myself," Coran explained. "I suspect there might be Alteans out there, but I don't know for sure. Besides," he said, his eyes sparkling with sadness, "even if I'm right and there are Altean colonies out there, I have no way of knowing if those colonies would be friendly."

"What do you mean?" Hunk asked.

Coran met Hunk's gaze with his own and smiled sadly. "It's been a long time and the Galra have ruled the known universe for that time," he said. "I was blessed to be born Altean, raised among lovers of peace, and trained to understand and respect the differences between races and cultures, whether I agreed with them or not. But I am not naïve. Neither is Allura," he added.

He lifted his gaze to the glittering stars hovering beyond the view screen dome that covered the walls and ceiling of the observatory. "Allura traveled with her father frequently, training to be a diplomat," he said. "She saw much on her travels, but not everything. Alfor did his best to protect her from the worst the universe had to offer while still helping her see that there is no such thing as a perfect society. Evil is everywhere sentience exists."

"Lance stayed on Altea studying in the Collegium," Coran continued. "The Druids traveled just as often as diplomats, sometimes even more often depending on the demand for their skills. Had Lance finished his studies and become a Pilot, he definitely would have traveled."

"But he didn't," Hunk said in a subdued voice.

"No," Coran said with a sigh. "No, he did not. Out of the two of them, Lance is probably the more naïve. He's not stupid, but he has a habit underestimating how evil people can be. I fear the day he'll come face-to-face with the truth, it will break him."

"He survived Sendak," Hunk said hopefully.

"Yes," Coran said, nodding. "Yes, he did." He flashed the yellow paladin a smile. "WE all did."

He didn't say anything else and Hunk didn't press. For a teck, the two simply sat in the silence.

"You know," Coran said, an amused smile on his face, "Allura is rather strict about deadlines." When Hunk looked at him oddly, Coran lifted both eyebrows. "Weren't you supposed to be getting ready to go with Pidge?"

"Oh Pele!" Hunk cried, scrambling to his feet and racing to the lift.

Coran laughed. Technically, the boy still had several tecks before he had to be ready. Coran hadn't even started readying the Castle's systems yet. Still, it felt good to know he could still have a little fun. It made him feel young again, his children tumbling in the grass with his beloved resting her head in his lap. Those days were gone. But he still had a family to love and that's all that mattered.


	113. PART 4 - 113: Advice Twice

**A/N:** Hey y'all. So sorry for the delay. I live in the southeast and we had some nasty storms move through. I lost my Internet and had to wait 3 days for the guy to come fix it. Then I had to buckle down and study for my Finals which start next week. I don't have any tests (I don't think) but I do have a Final Project that is literally at least 40% of my Final grade in that class. No kidding. So I'm making that my priority.

I'm not giving up on this fic. Not by a long shot. I just have to focus on real life for the next few week.s I'll be updating sporadically between now and then. But when I'm done with the semester, updates will return to a more regular schedule. Again, sorry for the delay.  
 **  
Altean** **Translations:**  
sava: me, you (singular), literally "person"  
savi: we, you (plural), us, them  
sava-mei: sibling (neuter/gender neutral), literally "person-sibling"  
sava-ro: (neuter/gender neutral) life partner, mate, literally "person-mine"

The Alteans speak mostly in what we would call third person in a very formal sounding way. They **always** use honorifics like _sava_ before/after people's names. Not doing so is considered rude unless you're close. It's also common to shorten a person's name if the first letter of the person's name is the same as the last letter of the honorific. For instance, "Allura" would be shortened to " _sava_ -'Llura" so the "ah" sound isn't pronounced twice in a row. However, "Lance" would still be " _sava_ -Lance" with no shortening.

^^; Sorry for the rambling there. I realized after I wrote the whole conversation in Altean lingo that it may come off as a bit confusing. I've put the English translated version of the conversation in the **End Notes A/N** at the end of the chapter in case anyone wants to read it. Hopefully that'll help cut down on confusion.

Ok. Shutting up now. Enjoy this chapter in the meantime. ^_^

 **Chapter summary:** In which the Altean siblings have a private conversation in public, Allura makes a decision, and Shiro curses. **  
**

* * *

 **113: Advice Twice**

Allura waited impatiently by the Blue Lion for her brother to get down to the hanger bay already. When Lance finally did arrive, he was staring fixedly at a tablet cradled in one hand and a bag in the other.

"Lance!" she called.

Immediately, her brother looked up, smiling when he saw her. "'Llura," he said happily. "Why are you here? Not that I'm complaining," he said quickly. "I just thought you were getting ready to leave with Shiro."

"I was," the princess said, her eyes shifting to anything but Lance.

She glanced back up at her brother and immediately knew she'd made a mistake. Lance was smirking at her. Even though he wasn't laughing out loud, his eyes were doing all the laughing necessary.

"You're avoiding him," Lance teased in a sing-song tone.

Allura frowned and sulked. "Maybe," she huffed.

"You know," her brother teased, tapping her shoulder with a grin, "Shiro can't court you if you don't stay with him."

"I'm aware of that-"

"And yet you're here with me and Shiro's probably loading up the Black Lion as we speak, alone and mourning the loss of his lovely princess," the Sentinel taunted without even the slightest bit of remorse.

Allura rolled her turquoise eyes dramatically in an effort to distract her brother and herself from the intensifying blush in her cheeks. Lance was probably right, though. The princess wouldn't be surprised if Shiro was in the Black Lion's hanger loading it up with the necessary supplies they would need for their trip.

She groaned. "Look," she said, hoping to cut off her brother's teasing. "That's not why I'm here."

"Oh no?" Lance said, winking at her.

"No," she said, feeling worry grip her heart. "I need your advice."

Immediately, the humor drained from her brother's face. Allura felt bad for doing this to Lance, but she really did need to talk.

"What is it?" Lance asked seriously, hefting the tablet in his right hand so it shifted back to rest on his forearm against his elbow.

Allura's eyes flickered to the lift door behind Lance to be sure they were alone before speaking. "Do you think separating now is the right idea?" she asked. At her brother's confused frown, she tried to clarify. "I mean, I know it's important that we find the Resistance's leader, but something keeps telling me we need to stay together. But if we _do_ stay together, then it will take longer to do everything we need to do."

Lance sighed. "I'm not really to one to answering a question like that," he said slowly. "Coran would probably be the better choice."

"But I didn't ask him," Allura cut in quickly. "I asked you. I want to know what _you_ think."

Her brother grimaced and shifted awkwardly. "Honestly, I'd rather not separate," he admitted softly. "I don't like not knowing where you are. I'm your Sentinel. It's my job to protect you and I don't know where you ar-"

"Stop right there," Allura said sharply, holding up a hand, palm facing Lance. "I'm not asking Lance the Sentinel. I'm asking Lance my sibling."

The lift doors hissed open but neither sibling turned to the newcomer. Instead, Allura took a deep breath before reaching up and switching off her translator, startling her brother. After a moment of hesitation, Lance also reached up and turned off his translator. His dark blue eyes studied hers uneasily, waiting for her to explain.

 _" **Sava** is asking **sava** -Lance,"_ Allura said slowly, her eyes never leaving Lance's, _"if going out on **sava** -Lance's own to deliberately distract the Galra from looking for **sava** is a good idea."_

Lance sighed and hung his head, not answering.

 _" **Sava** is also asking **sava** -Lance why **sava** -Lance hasn't shifted in so long," _Allura said, lifting an eyebrow. She ignored the pointed look her sibling shot her. _"And what **sava** -Lance hopes to accomplish by continuing to be the bait and lead the Galra on a wild wake angel chase."_

Lance narrowed his eyes in growing frustration. _"And **sava** could ask **sava** -'Llura why **sava** -'Llura keeps asking questions that **sava** -'Llura hasn't answered either."_

The lift doors hissed open but neither sibling turned to the newcomer. Instead, Allura glowered.

 _"True words. **Sava** retracts the questions about shifting then,"_ Allura said softly. _"But not the others."_

Lance groaned. _" **Sava** is the Sentinel of **sava** -'Llura-"_

 _" **Sava** -Lance-" _Allura began sharply.

 _"-and,"_ Lance continued, raising his voice to talk over Allura, _" **sava** is the **sava-mei** of **sava** -'Llura. Can **sava** -'Llura find fault in wanting to protect the **sava-mei** of **sava** -Lance?" _Lance asked, his eyes wide and vulnerable. _" **Sava-ro-** Keith asked **sava** the same question, or close to it."_

 _"And what did **sava** -Lance say?"_ Allura asked, cautiously curious.

 _"Exactly what **sava** is telling **sava** -'Llura now,"_ Lance replied simply. _"That **sava** is the **sava-mei** of Allura and **sava** loves Allura. **Sava** would do anything for Allura just as **sava** knows Allura would do anything for **sava**."_

When Allura's brother dropped the polite honorific before her name in favor of using her full name, it didn't go unmissed. She knew Lance was trying to impress on her the importance of his words. Honorifics for a person were never dropped without permission. To drop the honorific and call someone who was not a life-partner by their full name without permission was considered beyond rude.

Lance knew exactly what he was doing and it irked Allura to no end. By dropping the honorific, he was placing himself in a vulnerable position. If Allura responded without dropping the honorific to his name, then he would know she took offense to his words. But if she _did_ drop the honorific…

 _"Lance,"_ she said reluctantly, _" **sava** is not asking because **sava** doubts. **Sava** is asking because **sava** senses there is more to this than **savi** have been led to believe." _ She glanced up at the Blue Lion behind her with a frown. In the corner of her eye, she saw her brother follow her gaze. _" **Savi** have not accessed the full power of the Lions," _ she murmured. _"It worries **sava**."_

Lance shifted awkwardly next to her. _"It is only a matter of time,"_ he said. _"It took even Zarkon,"_ he spat the name with an intense hatred Allura could feel with equal intensity, _"to master **sava** -Black Lion's special abilities."_

 _"But not this long,"_ the princess murmured with a frown.

Lance had nothing to say in response to that.

* * *

"What the hell are you two saying?" Pidge demanded, her eyes flickering between the two Alteans.

Startled, both Allura and Lance spun around to stare at the green paladin with wide eyes. Clearly, they had forgotten they weren't alone. Pidge planted her hands on her hips and stared at the siblings with open suspicion, waiting for a response. Lance, at least, had the decency to flush in embarrassment and slip a hand up to flick something behind his ear, probably his translator. His head twitched slightly before he sighed.

"Sorry, shrub," he said, a ghost of his usual teasing smile on his lips. "Didn't notice you there."

Pidge pursed her lips and lifted both eyebrows making it very clear how much she did not buy that obviously pathetic excuse. Lance cleared his throat and dropped his gaze, flushing. When he lifted his head, his eyes were focused on his sister's. He grimaced, reached up to brush his fingers over Allura's eye scale, then strode towards the Blue Lion without another word.

Allura watched her brother enter the Blue Lion's mouth with a sigh before reaching up to turn her own translator back on as well. "I apologize for that," she said, turning back to face Pidge. "Some things I…" She bit her lip and clasped her hands in front of her, bowing her head. "Some things I just want to talk about to my brother alone."

The green paladin frowned. "You do remember the trouble keeping secrets got us in last time, right?" she said in a flat tone.

Allura nodded. "It's not that kind of a secret," she said.

"Then what kind is it?" Pidge demanded.

The princess took a deep breath. "I suppose it's not so much of a secret," she murmured, tucking a stray strand of white hair behind her pointed ear. "Pidge, can I ask you a question?"

Caught off guard, Pidge nodded cautiously. "Yeah, I guess."

"Your family," Allura began slowly, "the ones still held by the Galra…" She hesitated when Pidge frowned. "If you knew your family was captured because they thought it would keep you safe, how would you feel?"

Pidge swallowed. "I wouldn't like it," she said. "And I'd smack my big brother a good one for allowing himself to be that stupid."

Allura smiled finally. "That's essentially what I was trying to get across," she said. "But," her smile faded, "I wasn't sure if he would listen to me unless I spoke to him like that." She looked up to the Blue Lion's glowing yellow eyes and sighed.

"Did he?" Pidge asked. "Listen, I mean?"

"I think so," Allura answered. "Though I doubt he'll heed my words."

"Brothers usually don't," Pidge said wryly. "But at least he loves you enough to hear you out."

"True."

Pidge groaned and rolled her eyes dramatically. "Oh, my god. Hey jellyfish!" she shouted up at the Blue Lion's head. "You little shit! Did you really think I missed you calling me a 'shrub' earlier? You fucking jerk!"

Dull thuds echoed from the Lion's mouth as Lance ran down the ramp. It took a second for Pidge to realize he wasn't going to stop. Then her eyes got huge and she backpedaled. She may be quick, but she was still much lighter than Lance and she had no desire to be glomped.

Oh well.

Just as she turned to duck behind Allura, Lance nabbed her and it was over. If she didn't know better, she would have bet every penny she had that that her squeals of laughter were heard all the way up to the observatory at the top of the Castle. Thankfully, Allura, may she be blessed, managed to snatch the collar of Lance's shirt and yank him away.

"Lance!" Allura cried. "That is not becoming of the Sentinel. You do not go around tickling paladins."

Lance tried to look chastened. He really did. Not.

"Stop smiling," Allura said, waving a finger in her brother's face. "And you, Pidge," the princess said, turning her attention to the still gasping and giggling paladin. "Watch your language! Honestly, how old are you two? Don't answer that!" she added quickly, holding up a hand. "You're _both_ old enough to know better." She huffed. "Lance, finish getting your Lion ready for departure. Pidge, you do the same."

"Don't tell me what to d-"

"Lance," Allura said. "I love you, but shut up."

Pidge snorted. "Burn," she whispered.

"Shrub," Lance whispered.

"Jellyfish," Pidge whispered back.

"Ugh! You utter _children!"_ Allura cried. "Both of you, hold your tongues and get to work."

Lance groaned but began to walk back to his Lion when he glanced at Pidge, and cracked up laughing. For her part, Pidge didn't see anything wrong with the scenario. The princess told her to hold her tongue. Just because Pidge decided to take the command literally didn't mean anything. Besides, the look of helpless frustration on Allura's pretty face was well worth it. Even if it did mean Pidge had to book it out of the Blue Lion's hanger as face as she could.

On the bright side, the lift door opened and closed behind Pidge too quickly for Allura to catch her. This time.

* * *

Shiro scanned through the data one last time from the cockpit of the Black Lion before preparing for launch. Technically, he still had another few minutes before Allura was due to arrive so he didn't need to rush. But why wait?

Nothing new had been added. Nodding thoughtfully, Shiro dismissed the display. Coran said he would forward what he'd been able to find on the Resistance. Looking at the readouts now, Shiro couldn't help but be impressed. The Advisor certainly knew what he was doing.

The plan was to head out with Allura in search of the Blade of Marmora unless Lance heard something from Nyma. Then they were to focus on meeting with the Resistance's mysterious Leader, Romelle. But Lance hadn't heard anything yet. That worried Shiro. The whole scenario worried him. The information on the Resistance led him to believe that they were organized but not as active as he'd prefer. What if Nyma decided to double-cross them? She and Rolo had done it once. What was to stop them from doing it again?

Nevertheless, the agreement was to give Nyma another three hours before Lance attempted to contact her. If he still didn't get a response, or the response was less than trustworthy, then it would be up to Allura. If the princess decided to give it another try, then they would. Otherwise, they were going to focus on forging an alliance with the Blade of Marmora.

There was something nagging Shiro, though. Why weren't the Blade and the Resistance working together as one unit? From what he understood from Keith's short explanation, the Blade and the Resistance were allied but not necessarily working together as one unit. That could be due to any number of things, but it still posed the question of why? Why were they still separate? Was there a reason?

"Shiro?"

He did not jump. He really didn't. It was just a twitch. A very big twitch. Yes.

"Princess!" he said. "I didn't hear you come in."

Allura flashed him a look, pressing her lips together to prevent her snickers from escaping. "Yes," she said, a smile slipping onto her face. "I noticed."

Shiro flushed and ducked his head to hide his crooked smile. He must have been a sight.

"How are preparations going?" Allura asked, resting a hand on Shiro's shoulder.

Trying very hard not to notice the touch, Shiro cleared his throat and maximized the Resistance's display on the main view screen. "I think we can start looking here," he said, pointing to a peculiar star system. He tapped the display and the system grew to fill the view screen. "I was able to put Coran's information together with what I could remember from my time with e Galra," the hand on his shoulder tightened, "and I think this would be the best place to start looking for the Resistance."

"Why?" Allura asked, studying the image. "Wait." She leaned closer to the screen with a frown. "I think I know this planet."

"You do?" Shiro asked, lifting his eyebrows in mild surprise. "What do you know about it?"

"Well, if it is the place I'm thinking of, then it's certainly changed since I saw it last," the princess said, straightening. "Last time I visited, it wasn't frozen over. It was an ocean world and the people there were sea dwellers mostly."

"You mean people live there?" Shiro asked, looking at the ice-bound planet with renewed interest. "Amazing. You don't think…"

"No," Allura said, shaking her head. "I doubt the Galra are responsible for this. It's most likely due to natural causes. The planet life was sustained by thermal vents that heated the water. If the thermal vents became less active, then it would make sense for the water to cool and freeze. The planet is already on the edge of the habitable zone."

"Huh." Shiro considered the planet thoughtfully. "Does it have a name? Or did it have a name when you visited?"

Allura nodded. "It did yes, but I always had trouble pronouncing it," she said, glancing away awkwardly.

Shiro chuckled fondly and patted the hand still resting on his shoulder. "Then would you mind if I gave it a name so we don't keep calling it 'the planet'?" he asked.

"I don't mind," Allura said.

"Alright then. We'll call it Oceanus, then," the black paladin declared proudly.

Allura gave him a look, one eyebrow lifted. "Oceanus," she repeated blandly. "Really? That's the best you can come up with?"

Shiro blushed and shrugged. "Well, where I come from, Oceanus is a mythological figure from Greek mythology. That where we get the word 'ocean.' But, I mean, if you don't like it, we could call it Panthalassa, I guess."

"Panthalassa?"

"Yeah. It's what we call the sea back when Pangea still existed," Shiro said, his eyes sparkling with excitement. At the princess's look of confusion, he wilted. "Or we could call it Oceanus."

Allura sighed. "I like Panthalassa," she said. "But it's harder to remember."

Shiro blinked, then grinned and bit his lip. He would not crack any age jokes. "Alright. Oceanus it is."

 _"Shiro, are you there?"_ Coran's voice said over the Black Lion's speakers.

"We're here, Coran," Allura answered.

 _"Oh, Princess, you're there too. Good, good,"_ the Advisor chirped happily. _"Pidge and Hunk are ready to fly to the Galra space base."_

"Understood," Allura said. She gnawed her lip for a moment before speaking once more. "Have Lance and Keith left yet?" she called.

 _"Hm? No, not yet,"_ Coran replied. _"Why? Is something wrong?"_

"No, not really," Allura said. "Has Lance still heard nothing from Nyma?"

 _"I'm afraid not, Princess,"_ Coran said, although there was room for hope in his voice. _"He's giving it another hour before attempting to contact her himself."_

"This just sounds fishy.," Shiro muttered. At Allura's confused look, the black paladin clarified. "Confusing, weird. It's an Earth thing."

The princess nodded. "Coran, tell Lance to go ahead and try contacting Nyma, if he can."

 _"As you wish,"_ the Advisor said. _"Um, if you don't mind me saying,"_ he said hesitantly, _"I'm not sure I like the idea of splitting up. I would much rather we stayed together as a team. It would slow our progress, true, but it would be safer, I think."_

Shiro grimaced, but nodded in agreement. "I know what you mean, Coran," he said. "But we do have a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it." He looked over his shoulder at Allura and was surprised to see a pensive expression on her face. "Allura? What's wrong?"

"Coran," Allura said slowly, "did Lance tell you to say that?"

 _"No, why do you ask?"_

The princess looked away. "No reason," she mumbled.

"Allura," Shiro said softly, "is there something bothering you?"

The princess frowned. "I'll take this," she whispered. "Change of plan, Coran," she said louder.

 _"Princess?"_

"Shiro and I are staying here," she said.

Shiro furrowed his brow. "Are you sure?" he asked.

"Never dismiss advise given twice," Allura said. She squeezed his shoulder. "When Lance finished with Nyma, let me know. I'll see them off."

 _"Understood, princess,"_ Coran said.

"Allura," Shiro said. "What's bothering you?"

"Nothing I can put my finger on," she said. She glanced at him briefly before sighing. "I honestly don't know what's bothering me exactly. Just… I feel like I'm missing something important."

"Does it have something to do with us splitting up?" Shiro asked shrewdly.

She nodded. "There's a phrase among my people," she said slowly, "Never dismiss good advice given twice."

"You said that earlier," Shiro said, nodding. "It rhymes," he added with a small smile.

"Does it?" she asked in surprise. "Interesting. It doesn't in Altean."

Shiro just shrugged, his smile not fading in the slightest. Despite her obvious discomfort, a smile worked its way onto Allura's lips as well. At the sight of it, Shiro's smile grew. He counted that as a victory.

And he was staring. So was she.

The both realized that at the same moment. Shiro's face flamed in embarrassment but Allura chuckled. She leaned down and placed a light kiss on the paladin's cheek right by his eye. Shiro _might_ have made a sound in the higher octaves. Might.

Allura laughed and turned to leave, squeezing Shiro's shoulder one last time. Shiro was blushing too hard to do much other than sink into his pilot seat and try to cool down. The Black Lion purred in his mind. It would have been soothing except for the fact Shiro felt distinctly like he was being teased. He watched Allura stroll across the Black Lion's hanger towards the lift and-

 _:Found you.:_

Shiro sat bolt upright in his seat in shock. What was- He could swear he just heard- Was that- It couldn't be.

"What the hell?" he murmured.

* * *

 **End Notes:** I don't normally do End Notes, but I am this time. For anyone who found the Altean conversation between Lance and Allura confusing, this is the English translation:

 *******  
"I'm asking you," Allura said slowly, her eyes never leaving Lance's, "if going out on your own to deliberately distract the Galra from looking for me is a good idea."

Lance sighed and hung his head, not answering.

"I'm also asking why you hasn't shapeshifted in so long," Allura said, lifting an eyebrow. She ignored the pointed look her sibling shot her. "And what you hope to accomplish by continuing to be the bait and lead the Galra on a wild wake angel chase."

Lance narrowed his eyes in growing frustration. "I could ask why you keep asking questions that you hasn't answered either. Besides, I did shift on Meserie. So did you."

The princess glowered but reluctantly admitted that Lance had a point."True words," Allura said softly. "I retract the questions about shifting then, but not the others."

Lance groaned. "I'm your Sentinel-"

"Lance-" Allura began sharply.

"-and," Lance continued, raising his voice to talk over Allura, "I'm your sibling. Where is the fault in wanting to protect you?" Lance asked, his eyes wide and vulnerable. "My mate Keith asked me the same question earlier, or close to it," he muttered with a sigh.

"And what did you say?" Allura asked, cautiously curious.

"Exactly what I'm telling you now," Lance replied simply. "That I'm your sibling, I love you, and I would do anything for you. Just as I know you would do anything for me."

"Lance," she said reluctantly, "I am not asking because I doubt you. I'm asking because I sense there is more to this than we have been led to believe." She glanced up at the Blue Lion behind her brother with a frown. In the corner of her eye, she saw her brother follow her gaze. "You have not accessed the full power of the Lions yet," she murmured. "It worries me."

Lance shifted awkwardly next to her. "It is only a matter of time," he said. "It took even Zarkon," he spat the name with an intense hatred Allura could feel with equal intensity, "much time to master the Black Lion's special abilities."

"But not this long," the princess murmured with a frown.  
 *****  
**


	114. PART 4 - 114: Shards

**A/N:** Way overdue. I am ashamed. I worked all summer and am now back in college. I finally found some downtime to start writing again and decided to start two new fics to work on as well as this one.

...What have I done?

 **Chapter summary:** In which Nyma hates this, Thace isn't sure what to make of this, Lotor's interested in this, and Lance is not okay with this...yet.

* * *

 **114: Shards**

Whatever she'd been expecting, this hadn't been it. She should have expected worse. She didn't.

She couldn't scream any longer. She couldn't talk either. Her throat was too raw. Thus, when the Soldier came into her cell, she didn't even bother to acknowledge him.

"I realize you can't talk," he said, "but I need to ask you a few questions."

Well, she couldn't talk, but she could spit just fine apparently. The Soldier didn't wipe the spit away, but his expression did soften minutely.

"I guess I deserve that," he muttered just loud enough for her to hear. He straightened his back and clasped his hands behind him. After a click glance over his shoulder, he sighed. "I can't talk long," he said. "But you know the protocol here."

She nodded.

"You tricked us," he said, strolling slowly around the wrack she was strapped to. "You and your partner contacted us with a trade. The Champion for a clean record. We sent a battlecruiser to the designation meet and- what do you know? -no one was there." He stopped just in her left peripheral vision. "You wasted the resources of the Galra Empire and diverted attention from an attack on Balmera 95-Vox that could have benefited from the presence of that battlecruiser."

The leaned in close to her ear and hissed, "You and your despicable partner are indirectly responsible for the deaths of 1,000 Galra lives at the hands of Voltron. Come to find out the Champion is a member of this Voltron team; the very same Champion you and your partner supposedly had in custody."

The Soldier stepped back so he stood in front of her, his cold yellow eyes glowing in the dimness of the room. "Prince Lotor himself saw the Champion and the Sentinel together as part of the Voltron team. I doubt it was a coincidence that you were found on Meserie at the same time the Sentinel escaped Lotor with the Champion's help. That makes you a traitor to the Galra Empire." Those golden eyes narrowed dangerously. "That penalty for treason is death."

She snorted, licking the yellow-ish blood dribbling from her nose.

"I though the Trader's Guild doesn't involve itself with politics of any world or people," the Soldier continued.

Again, she just snorted and let her head loll back against the metal gurney.

The Soldier bit his lip, dipping his chin slightly. "Can you hold out for another cycle?" he asked softly.

She frowned, coughing when she tried to talk. She settled for a disgruntled stare.

"You'll be interviewed by Prince Lotor shortly," the Soldier declared louder. "You might want to start deciding what's more important to you: your life or your loyalty."

She clamped her mouth shut and swallowed. Her lidless blue eyes glared at the Galra subcommander.

"But if someone else comes in before he gets here," the Soldier added quietly, "then maybe you should trust them." He lifted an eyebrow and lifted his chin. "Still no answer?" he said in his usual volume.

He casually stepped closer to her, deliberately placing his body between her and the door. She glanced down briefly at her right breast, clenching her jaw just in time for a powerful, purple, right hook. If the hand happened to slip into her shirt and pull a certain something out of it, then all the better for it. All the same, it still felt good to spit the excess blood at the Soldier's face.

"I'll remember that," he said, palming the little item away.

She wasn't ready for the next punch, but the blackness was a welcome relief.

* * *

Frak, that felt good. He'd wanted to do that since that bastard partner of hers first contacted him to trade the Champion. After Ulaz worked so hard to get him out of here, the crazy Traders were going to put the Champion right back in. Ulaz had been one of the best deep cover operatives the Blade of Marmora had. It was for that reason alone that Ulaz hadn't been killed for betraying the Blade and acting on his own.

Ulaz thought freeing the Champion was worth it. Thace may not have understood it, but he trusted his friend's instincts. For those backstabbing, traitorous traders to do something that very nearly cost a member of the Blade to lose his life was unacceptable. Bastards.

He took a moment to take a slow, deep breath to calm down and compose himself before leaving the holding cell. He was definitely still furious, but unlike the traders, he wasn't going turns on friends. Although, he thought, feeling the item he'd taken from Nyma, he certainly hadn't expected to get something out of that little session. Maybe this would be useful. Hopefully.

Probably not.

The Druid standing outside the interrogation room was answer enough. The masked being regarded Thace silently before tilting its hooded head and holding out its hand. It must have seen him take the item. If it saw that, then it may have seen something it shouldn't have. But then again, it wasn't a bad thing to have informants. Besides, Commander Prorok was the one who actually sealed the deal with Rolo and Nyma to trade for the Champion.

Wouldn't it be inconvenient if a piece of evidence handed over by a loyal soldier of the Galra Empire disappeared under the watch of a certain inept commander already suspected of mishandling the Balmera 95-Vox incident?

Obediently, Thace placed the item in the Druid's hand. "I found this in the prisoner's shirt," he said mildly. "I'm not exactly sure what it is, but considering the prisoner was attempting to conceal it, I think it would be wise to turn this over to the prince."

The masked creature made no move to nod, but it did close its fingers over the object and hold it up to the many eye slits in the mask. It was a small, smooth fluorite crystal that gleamed blue, green, and purple in the purple light of the battlecruiser. Thace couldn't even begin to figure out what use the crystal could have. It didn't glow with power like the control crystals onboard the Galra spacecraft or in their weapons. It was also too small to be store a great deal of information. Even if it had been the correct size, it wasn't cut correctly for maximum storage use, either. Why would the frelled Trader has something like this with her?

"Is the prince still in his chambers?" Thace asked.

As expected, the Druid didn't answer verbally. However, it did nod. Fighting back a sigh of relief, Thace nodded.

"Good," he said simply.

Without another word, he turned on his heel and made his way to the prince's quarters. He still wasn't fond of the thought of turning over what could be vital intel involving the rebellion to the Druids, but he could work around it. He had no choice. It was for this reason, and this reason alone, that he felt relief when the Druid fell into step beside him. If the Druid intended to turn the crystal over to the prince right now, then that gave Thace another chance to work this turn of events to his favor.

Unfortunately, Druids were not the best companions under any circumstance so the march to Prince Lotor's chambers felt like it took longer than usual. At least when they finally arrived, the prince's door opened readily.

"Enter," the prince commanded from inside.

"Your Majesty," Thace said, bowing at the waist. He noticed with interest that the Druid at his side mirror his movements. Straightening, Thace stepping into the room, the Druid by his side, and was mildly surprised to see the prince pacing back and forth. He frowned. "Your Majesty," he said, "has something happened?"

"He found them before me," Lotor growled furiously.

"Who found whom, my lord?" Thace asked in confusion.

"My obsessed idiot of a father, without ever leaving his frell-forsaken-fortress, managed to find Voltron before me!" Lotor shouted, aiming a burning glare at the subcommander that had even the Druid shrinking back. "Frak that bastard to the Void!"

Thace hesitated. Lotor's anger was notoriously dangerous to friend and foe alike. He glanced at the Druid who surprising met his gaze in return. For once in his lifetime, Thace actually felt more comfortable with the creature by his side.

"May I ask how you know this?" Thace asked.

"The Emperor contacted me and informed me in person," Lotor hissed. "I've been ordered to drop everything and head to the coordinates he gave me."

"He isn't going himself?"

The prince sneered. "He is. It seems I'm just closer. The first time he contacts me directly in turns and it's to send me on a wild wake angel chase after his latest obsession."

Thace wisely held his tongue upon hearing the irony in that statement.

"Perhaps I should wait to tell you about the prisoner?" Thace asked carefully.

Immediately, he had Lotor's attention. "On the contrary," the Galra prince said, pausing his pacing to face the subcommander fully. He crossed his arms and narrowed his golden eyes. "Tell me everything."

Taking a deep, steadying breath, Thace nodded adjusting his stance so he stood at attention. "The prisoner didn't say much of use when I interrogated her," he reported. "However, I was able to take this from her." He gestured to the Druid who stiffened before extending its hand, revealing the fluorite shard. "I'm unsure of its purpose, but she went to great lengths to conceal it so I assumed you would want to study it yourself."

"It contains a strand of quintessence," the Druid said, startling both Thace and the prince.

"Is it the prisoner's quintessence?" Lotor asked, taking the shard from the Druid's hand.

The masked creature shook its head. "No," it answered firmly. "I was not able to recognize the owner. It is…" it tilted its head as if perplexed, "unlike any quintessence I have ever felt before."

"Is it now?" Lotor murmured, turning the shard so it caught the light. "Have you gotten anything else of use from the prisoner?" he said, lowering the shard to study the Druid.

"I have not, my lord," Thace said, drawing the prince's gaze. He lowered his chin in respect. "But I do know her."

"Do you, now?" Lotor purred, his eyes narrowed and a flash of teeth gleamed in the dim light.

"Yes, your highness," Thace replied. "Commander Prorok sometimes used the prisoner and her partner as informants." He hesitated. "It was them who informed the Commander that Voltron was heading to Balmera 95-Vox."

For a moment, the prince said nothing. His eyes, however, flickered back to the crystal shard in his hand, fiddling with it absently in thought. Humming, Lotor turned and made his way to the view port.

"If your highness permits," Thace said, stepping forward, "this could be an opportunity. If we arrive early, then you could claim both Voltron and perhaps even the Sentinel. At the very least, you could use Voltron as leverage the draw the Sentinel out if he isn't there."

"I'm aware," Lotor said in a flat tone.

"You believe the Emperor is testing you," the Druid said.

Startled, Thace stared at the Druid with wide eyes. If Emperor Zarkon was testing Lotor, it meant one of two things: Zarkon was preparing the prince for something greater or, more likely, he didn't trust Lotor to not undermine his authority. That put the prince in a tight spot. If Lotor acted on the emperor's orders, then he couldn't hide his prize without revealing his hand. On the flip side, if Lotor didn't act on the emperor's orders, he would be seen as a disobedient child. Neither outcome was optimal to anyone's goals.

"Do you need to go in person?" Thace ventured. "Or could a representative go in your place?"

The Galran prince turned to the subcommander, silently waiting for him to continue. Thace chose his words carefully. "Could you gather your generals and have them continue your work here while you attend to the emperor's command?" Thace asked. "Or the other way around?"

"As much as I'd love to, no," the prince said. He flipped the crystal shard carelessly into the air before catching it. "Did you learn anything else of interest from the prisoner?"

Thace acknowledged the abrupt change of subject for what it was and bowed his head respectfully. "Nothing of use," he admitted. "She admitted to meeting someone who matches the Sentinel's appearance to conduct a trade, but nothing more. Once the trade was complete, they parted ways."

Lotor hummed thoughtfully, his eyes settling on the silent Druid.

"The subcommander speaks true," the Druid said softly. "We could use more persuasive methods, if you wish, bu-"

"No," Lotor said, cutting of the Druid's words. "If my father wants to pick a fight with the Traders Guild, let him. I won't. I'll keep this," he held up the shard, "but we don't need to keep her. Besides," he added thoughtfully, "she's more useful to us out there than in here. Release her on the next planet we pass."

"Vrepit sa, sir," Thace said, offering the prince a salute.

* * *

"Is there anything else, your highness?" the Druid asked once subcommander Thace left Lotor's rooms.

The prince hummed. "Send word to Ezor," he said. "Tell her I have someone I want her to follow."

"Of course."

"That will be all," Lotor said, turning away from the Druid in a clear dismissal.

He waited until he heard the door slide shut, enjoying the silence. He truly enjoyed Meserie. It was such an organized chaos. But this was also one of the most powerful worlds under the Trader's Guild's control. If the Druids had bothered to inform him of the possible suspect involved in helping the Sentinel escape instead of acting first, then he wouldn't be in this mess. As things were, the Druids had captured a Trader in full view of the public on Meserie of all places.

This wouldn't sit well with the Trader's Guild. With any luck, a few good words in the right ears would help soothe some feathers. Lotor had no desire to be on the butt end of the Trader's Guild's ire. They were a powerful force to be reckoned with. A neutral force, but a powerful force nonetheless. They refused to actively be involved in interplanetary politics and were notoriously vicious to anyone who attempted to involve interplanetary politics. Politics were bad for business.

Lotor enjoyed his steady trade deal with that witch Merla. She was a frell of a Trader and always kept her word. Granted, she may not keep it in the way anyone expected her to, but she always kept it. If Merla learned some of Lotor's people had captured a Trader, if she didn't know already, she was a conniving witch like that, then Lotor wouldn't enjoy his next few trades. He would have to give more than he received.

Oh well. He would worry about that later. In the meantime, he studied the crystal shard in his hand. It was fluorite, if he wasn't mistaken. The murky blue-green of the crystal shimmered dully like viewing sunlight from underwater. The streak of intruding purple just added a nice touch of darkness.

If the Druid was right and there was a strand of quintessence trapped in there, then that left a number of questions. Why was it there? How did it get there? To whom did it belong? And was this even worth bothering to find out?

He closed his fingers around it, closed his eyes, and reached. Fluorite wasn't a crystal he worked typically, but that didn't mean he couldn't feel it. Instead of touching the trapped quintessence directly, he felt around it. Whoever had bound the quintessence into the crystal knew what they were doing. The thin thread of quintessence wove with the crystal until it was as much a part of the shard as the shard was a part of it. Fascinating.

Lovely colors and master craftsmanship. He would be interested to know to whom this originally belonged. But right now, he had a hunt to begin.

* * *

Lance shuddered, rubbing his arms when the hairs on his skin stood on end. Goosebumps, the Humans called the sensation. Such an odd word for such a strange feeling. He wasn't cold so much as… What was the word? Disconcerted? Unnerved? Unsettled?

He didn't know. All he knew for certain was that something was wrong. Nyma still wasn't responding. He tried to convince himself that she was in the middle of a trade, or asleep, or too busy to answer. But somehow, he had the nagging feeling that it wasn't as simple as that. He bit his lip, licking it when he caught himself, and bit his thumbnail instead.

He shuddered again and for a very brief moment, he almost felt like something was touching him. But as quickly as the though occurred to him, the feeling went away. Had something happened to Nyma? Was she alright? What about Rolo? They weren't captured by Lotor, were they? They'd been so careful to stay out of the prince's sights. Where did they mess up? _Did_ they mess up?

"Lance?"

Lance jumped and probably squeaked too, if the wide eyes and surprised quirk of Keith's lips were anything to go by.

"I didn't know you could do that," Keith said, wonder coloring his words.

"Do what?" Lance asked suspiciously, not really sure if he wanted to know the answer.

"Squeak," Keith replied. The grin stretching across his face was all teeth and made Lance both uncomfortable and hungry.

"I don't," he said.

Keith smirked. "And yet…" He let the words trail off suggestively.

It took a lot more self-control to fight back a smile than Lance would willingly admit.

"No luck yet?" Keith asked, his smile fading followed quickly by Lance's.

"No."

Keith pursed his lips, his ears drooping lower in disappointment. "What do you want to do?" he asked.

"Continue with the plan," Lance said, tucking the carnelian shard into his vest pocket. "We can't worry about something that may be nothing when we could and should be worrying about something that is definitely something."

"I'll let Coran know we're ready to leave, then," Keith said. He reached out and brushed the backs of his fingers against the torn eye scale, smiling when Lance's eyelids droops and his breath fluttered. "I'll be back," he said.

Lance mourned the loss of Keith's touch. He was growing used to the odd jumble of emotions and sensations he got from his lover whenever Keith touch his scales, particularly the damaged one. Every time he felt himself slipping closer and closer to a decision he never thought he'd have to make, and wasn't sure he was ready to make. But then, was one ever ready to bind themselves so permanently like that?

Did he want to know the answer to that?


End file.
